What’s Actually Better Today Than When We Were Growing Up?

Cars overall. Might be harder for the average Joe to work on, but lane keep assist, heated steering wheel/seats, adaptive cruise control, safety (airbags everywhere, latch, front collision avoidance), CarPlay (any music anywhere, turn by turn navigation), remote start by phone app anywhere, all amazing features.

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Pernicious_Possum@reddit

I always get a chuckle when old heads talk about “real cars”. Oh, do you mean the ones that resulted in a hundred times the fatalities from accidents, and everyone was amazed when they made it to 100k miles? All while getting a money saving 10mpg

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jameskerr75@reddit

I actually don't think the death rates on the roads have gone down though?

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Pernicious_Possum@reddit

They have. Substantially.

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jameskerr75@reddit

Yes from the 20th century. But have been going up since 2020, meaning all this new car safety stuff isn't doing much.

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YVRkeeper@reddit

I’m torn on this because those are mostly great features, but I also think they are contributing to the abysmal driving skills I see on the road. People rely too much on automation and safety features to pay attention anymore.

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jetpack324@reddit

But to be fair, automated cars are significantly better drivers than 95% of the current drivers on the road. Except you…you’re a fantastic driver.

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CallAParamedic@reddit

LOL'd at your last sentence. Thoughtful yet brutal at the same time. Nice one!

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the_answer_is_RUSH@reddit

Waymo is here and they are fantastic. I’ll take a fully automated car over a flawed human any day of the week. The problem is the humans who think lane assist, smart cruise control, etc allows them to not pay attention and scroll their phones. Drivers are absolutely shittier today than 30 years ago. It’s infuriating.

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aoteoroa@reddit

Yup. Modern cars are quieter, safer, handle better, faster, and more fuel efficient, but I have no interest in the 'tech' features that take driving out of peoples hands like lane assist, automatic braking and adaptive cruise.

Traction control systems are better, anti-lock are improved, automatic transmissions are vastly more efficient than those made in the '90s. Modern computers and sensors today enable a 1.4L 4cyl turbo engine to put out more horsepower than a 3.0L "High Output" V6 from 1992 and burn 25%-30% less fuel while doing it.

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EttaJamesKitty@reddit

I think the combination of automated systems + everyone staring at their little electronic security blankets all the dam time has made driving a lot less safer.

If I had a $ for every time I looked in my rear view mirror and the drivers eyes behind me were looking down at a phone instead of ahead, right back at me, I'd be a very wealthy woman.

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bexy11@reddit

Yup for sure. Also, I’ve never had a cat with all those fancy things because I’m poor and I’m not sure how much I might find them distracting more than helpful.

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allfockedup@reddit

This!

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Kailicat@reddit

Yes literally almost ran over by a Tesla today as I was in the crosswalk and he was just looking at something on his monitor. I mean I thought a Tesla wouldn't run me over? But I stopped walking and he kept driving less than a half meter in front of me. Didn't even slow down. Never even looked up actually.

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Deca_Durable@reddit

I have a love/hate relationship with my lane keeping assist. It works alright, but not enough to actually trust seeing how sometimes it feels like it’s trying to murder me. I think I’m actually less relaxed when it’s on.

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bexy11@reddit

I rented a car with lane assist once and that’s how I realized why EVERYBODY (at least where I am) tailgates even when going 80 mph and pass each other way too close to the people in front/behind.

The lane assist thing warns you basically when the person is right next to you but then immediately after they pass, it basically says, okay you’re good! Like does the lane assist thing not know the 5 seconds rule?

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Deca_Durable@reddit

That’s not lane keeping assist. That’s blind spot detection.

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bexy11@reddit

Oh. Wow. I’m outdated. 😂

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Deca_Durable@reddit

Lol I feel you though! And I hate tailgaters. I usuaally slow down just to piss them off and hopefully make them realize what they’re doing.

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bexy11@reddit

Yeah… they are all over the place here in Michigan. I’ve been here 6 years and they’re everywhere. I also grew up here and then was gone for 25 years. When I was growing up, it wasn’t like this.

I slow down or just go the speed limit. But I also have a fear of people who might get road rage and likely have a loaded gun on them, as it seems a lot of people do around these parts. That also was a massive change from when I grew up here.

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Deca_Durable@reddit

Oof yeah I don’t have to worry about that here in Canada. Obviously some criminals have illegal handguns, but compared to the US it’s not even close.

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bexy11@reddit

No country is even close. There are so many guns here. But when I lived in San Francisco and also when I lived in Philly (Philly was the 90s-2008), I rarely felt afraid. It’s partly regional but also gun sales have exponentially increased in the last 20 years. 😢

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Deca_Durable@reddit

Wow. And with things so polarized and everyone so angry nowadays I can totally understand your fear. Better to not be provocative on the road (a good way to go regardless of current climate).

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bexy11@reddit

It’s safer for sure!

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

Lane assist only works if the car's camera can see the lines on the road. Poorly marked lines won't get picked up.

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Deca_Durable@reddit

Yeah I know.

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moopet@reddit

I've yet to try any of those things except I think my current car has a passenger airbag. Power-assisted brakes are a good thing though. I drove n old car without that benefit and stopping was a real effort.

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bexy11@reddit

My cousin had an old car and when she was in an accident that wouldn’t normally be a fatal accident, she was killed immediately because of the lack of airbags.

So there’s a lot of safety features in newer cars that I appreciate. That said, my car is from 2013 and I bought it last year because my 2006 Hyundai, Bruce, got too old. 😢 Hopefully my 2013 has enough safety features.

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Zealousideal_Towel61@reddit

No. I'm the complete opposite. Give me a bare bones car with manual transmission, windows, etc for cheap. They're overpriced now and constantly need repairs. This is an area that I think is actually worse.

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Pillar67@reddit

Absolutley. And there are not lines of cars pulled over on a grade, steam spewing out of the radiator like I remember as a kid. Reliability, safety, gas mileage and emissions are all way better now. Like night and day. Ever get behind a “classic” car? You choke on the exhaust.

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MomsSpagetee@reddit

Oh yeah definitely. Not nearly as much oil burning, catalytic converters, electronic fuel injection, 10 speed automatic transmission, hybrids…crazy innovation.

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foldingpages@reddit

I can’t get used to it. I don’t know where to looking. At the screen? Behind me? You can’t do both at the same time and it just seems so wrong to not be looking back.

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SergeantBeavis@reddit

I took pride in that I could back a Deuce and a Half (think large truck in the Army) into a small space. However, one time I nearly backed over a child behind my truck. A camera stopped that from happening. As someone that has been totally run over by a car, I never want that for someone else. I also don’t want that on my conscience.

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mottledmussel@reddit

I also credit the army for my backing up skills.

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SergeantBeavis@reddit

I bet you still do, “Combat Parking” I sure do 😂

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fullofsharts@reddit

I rarely remember to even look at mine. I guess I'm just an old school driver who likes to turn my head around and actually look behind me.

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HappyReader1@reddit

I sometimes think all the new bells & whistles in cars can create a less safer driver

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bexy11@reddit

Yes. More distractions.

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HappyReader1@reddit

Exactly!!!

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CrazyAlbertan2@reddit

I have my very first vehicle with a backup camera and I have only thought to use two or three times. Old habits die hard. Heck, I haven't even paired my phone to the vehicle yet. I don't have any music streaming services on my phone and I don't believe in phone calls while driving (even hands free) and it has a perfectly good radio.

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baconography@reddit

It's been so long since I owned a car, that at first I thought you meant a second SLR camera, in case something happened to your first one.

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astro_nerd75@reddit

Yesss! Where were those when I was trying to learn to parallel park?

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HappyReader1@reddit

I parallel parked during my drivers test (successfully) and that was it. Never did it again

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astro_nerd75@reddit

I didn’t do it very often, and only when I had LOTS of room to spare, until I got a car with a backup camera. I’m much better at it now.

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GarionOrb@reddit

I can actually parallel park now.

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orthopod@reddit

Literally Toyota Camrys have performance semi close to high performance cars of the 80's

And cheaper

And more reliable.

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Ok-Ad5108@reddit

Traveling is way more convenient

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

Not having long distance phone bills.

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iamawj101@reddit

I broke up with a high school girlfriend for no other reason than she was a long distance call for me (even though she lived about 12 miles away).

My mom would highlight my calls to her on the phone bill and make me pay for them all. I made $4.50 an hour for about 10 hours a week at the time, so I was basically spending half my paycheck on the phone bill.

I always wonder if I would have married her if she lived 5 miles closer?

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Uffda01@reddit

It was a long distance phone call across our school district! there were some classmates we couldn't even call.

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Proof-River@reddit

It was long distance for me to call my friend who's house was directly behind ours. I could call my friend who lived 15 minutes away, but not the one who lived 50 ft away.

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Hobobo2024@reddit

you didn't love her enough if you wouldn't jisr pay the money to speak with her.

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99titan@reddit

I lived in a county on the Alabama state line that was long distance for us for a part of the east end of the county. They were Huntsville LATA and we were Shoals LATA.

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workinglate2024@reddit

If you broke up with her rather than spend the money on the phone bill, I think she lucked out in the long run!

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princesscheesefries@reddit

My brother used to answer every phone ad and constantly try to order us a pool for years age 5-10. Pool guys would show up constantly, he really gave it an effort. No idea how he managed to fool so many in our area.

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Which_Strength4445@reddit

And not having parents who despised the phone company. I mean if you really wanted to piss off your parents don't drink at home, don't take the car on a joyride, just tell them that you made a long distance phone call....

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tunaman808@reddit

Speak for yourself! I assure you my parents could not have cared less about long distance calls, and that drinking (at all) or borrowing the car would have been a MUCH BIGGER deal.

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One-Pause3171@reddit

Yeah, how much even was that shit? $.50?

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DJErikD@reddit

Per minute!

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lowfreq33@reddit

Nah, it was 50¢ for the first minute, then $2.99-$5.99 for each additional minute. I knew a few kids who got in a ton of trouble with their parents for that shit. My parents were at least smart enough to have the phone company block any calls to 900 numbers.

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One-Pause3171@reddit

Not 900 calls just regular long distance. I was a military brat and had to leave my friends and start over every couple of years. It was a huge treat if I was allowed to call an old friend long distance. Wish I could remember what those calls charged.

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waitwaitwhat3074@reddit

A lot! I racked up a $300 phone bill in 1986 calling my California friends while summering with my dad. I thought he was going to kill me!

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WimpyZombie@reddit

My sister dated a guy who went into the USAF….but she never mentioned it to my parents. ….until they got the phone bill that had 6 hours worth of phone calls to Germany.

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Ok-Rock2345@reddit

How about BBSs thatbhad thebsame area code but where long distance? Yep, that pirated game you dowloaded cost more than buying it at the store.

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marshallkrich@reddit

I can't even imagine how much it cost my parents to talk to me when I was a foreign exchange student in Germany and they were in Jersey.

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SnooChocolates2923@reddit

It cost me 42c per minute to call cross country during a weekday.

But don't forget you got 2/3 off long distance every Saturday!

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marshallkrich@reddit

Yeah, they always called at night when I was there, so I'd be drunk, trying not to sound drunk ( beer drinking age in Germany I think was 16 I back in 95 I think, or I looked old enough.) They laugh I was slurring my words and saying, " I-mmmmm, nottt drunkkkkk!"

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tkkana@reddit

Had to block 900 numbers with my first live in boyfriend. Kevin...God you were a dumb man

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boringcranberry@reddit

I remember my mom went on a cruise in the 90s and it was 17.00/per minute to use the ship phone to call home. I think I spoke to her 1x that week. Pizza and video games the rest of the time.

Since we are on the subject of phone companies, I got into a heap of trouble when I switched the house to MCI. They called, I answered, they told me it would be cheaper so I said yes. I thought my mom was gonna be happy! She was not.

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geri73@reddit

Yeah, they weren't supposed to do that but im sure the person that called you made their sales quota for the day. They got me like that and they didn't call. I all of a sudden had MCI.

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n_thomas74@reddit

Wasn't David Spade on a .10 cents a minute long distance commercial?

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sjbluebirds@reddit

David Spade? Who cares?

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MyPasswordIs222222@reddit

...or called a 900 number.

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travelinmatt76@reddit

i called a 900 number and blamed it on the babysitter

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Kettle_Whistle_@reddit

Hard to find good help…

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DeadMoneyDrew@reddit

1-900-HOT-LIPS. Yes that was actually a thing.

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peptide2@reddit

I know a guy, his wife divorced him from calling those numbers

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geri73@reddit

My favorite:

You don't have to be alone tonight. When ya need me, PICK UP THE PHONE!

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tomNJUSA@reddit

Yup My friends and I decided to call a whole bunch of times one weekend. My idiot friend insisted they were free calls because they're 900 numbers! My parents called all of the friends parents and we had to do chores until my dad decided we had worked of the $50 in charges.

We still give my idiot friend shit over that. Then we all laugh.

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geri73@reddit

Omg, I did that before. One was 900# for porn and the other was the BOX. My mom snapped and my dad was pissed but not as much as my mom.

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ApprehensiveWay337@reddit

We're you the one that ordered Too Live Crew's Pop that Coochie everyday all day for 4 months?

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geri73@reddit

🤣🤣🤣🤣 no comment.

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Hamachiman@reddit

Anyone remember calling POPCORN to get the time?

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touringaddict@reddit

Hey that’s Corey & Corey’s personal number! Never mind that it cost $2 for the first minute and $.45 for each additional minute. Totally legit.

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Boomerang503@reddit

Now my parents despise the cell providers for the data plans. We've jumped around from AT&T to T-Mobile and back.

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Hamachiman@reddit

😆

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SucksAtJudo@reddit

... BEFORE 8:00pm

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Lizabitch_@reddit

Holy crap. This reminded me of when we discovered in early 2000's that Ma was RENTING her phone from at&t since the 70's for 5 bucks a month. Shockingly, they didn't want it back when we canceled it.

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West-Birthday4475@reddit

I still have my parent’s old phone that says Property of Southern Bell on the bottom of it.

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waitwaitwhat3074@reddit

I have my dad's, baby shit green even lol

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ExtraAd7611@reddit

One of my professors had worked at Bell Labs in the 1950s-80s. He told me that those phones were engineered to survive a nuclear attack and to be dropped off the side of a building. Basically indestructible. I guess so they wouldn't have to spend money to send someone out to replace them.

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ancientastronaut2@reddit

Omg for sure. I remember banging that receiver pretty hard a few times when I was pissed and it didn't hurt it at all.

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Randall_Hickey@reddit

You were supposed to pay for every phone in your house. The cable company worked the same way. I can remember the cable company disconnecting my father’s splice so that they could watch cable in their bedroom.

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SkipSpenceIsGod@reddit

Same with my grandma from 1968 till 2005. 🤦🏻

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filledoux@reddit

I had a 7 year LDR with my then boyfriend, now husband. The phone bills!

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Vigilante17@reddit

I don’t think I ever had a $100 long distance phone bill before iPhones, but I pay $100/month for it now.

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Vivid_Meal992@reddit

Does it include leasing your phone tho?

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Vigilante17@reddit

Own my own phone

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Vivid_Meal992@reddit

Why is ur bill so much? That’s mad high

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mottledmussel@reddit

It must, otherwise that would be absurdly expensive.

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IM_The_Liquor@reddit

I recently switched to a pay as you go service. $35 CAD/month for unlimited calling and 60gb of data anywhere in Canada and the US…. Sure, I have to bring my own phone, but it’s a whole lot cheaper than any regular carrier.

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InevitableOk5017@reddit

And long distance being a county over even though you lived on a county line.

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peptide2@reddit

Oh they had us by the short and curlys

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Ribbitygirl@reddit

I was just thinking the other day about how I met a touring musician in the 90s and rang his hotel in Canada the night after we met. Four hours on the phone with international rates - RIP my phone bill!

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Ok-Rock2345@reddit

Not going to argue there. And with apps like whatsapp, even international calls are free. To think of all the people I lost contact because long distance was so expensive.

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RG1527@reddit

I dated a girl that lived 13 miles from my house. It was long distance...

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NearbyQuantity1847@reddit

This is a big one.

It’s easy to forget how big those long distance bills could add up. Today your monthly cell phone bill is cheaper than your monthly phone bill from back in the 80s and 90s. Plus you’re getting a mini super computer with everything you need that you can carry in your pocket.

Maybe not life changing, but definitely better.

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mottledmussel@reddit

I feel like I was paying around $30 or $40/month in the late 90s between local and long distance plans plus call waiting and caller ID. It's why I'd call and let it ring two times to let my parents know I made it home. It was really expensive.

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Top-Musician4324@reddit

I called a 1-900 number to figure out how to get past a level in the Sierra computer game, King's Quest. My parents were both irate, but it was worth it.

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shaft_of_lite@reddit

I had a girlfriend who lived 10 minutes away from me but it was still a long distance call because it was technically in a different city. She went to a different school so most of the time when I got home from school she called me from the pay phone at her school (her dad was a teacher and stayed late).

That little bit of distance led to something I'm still ashamed of 35 years later. Because I didn't want to spend any money on a long distance call I broke up with her through the mail. 😬

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LtPowers@reddit

Is that really better? You still have to pay, you just pay the same amount regardless of distance.

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wheatmonkey@reddit

Pretty sure my phone bills are still higher (inflation adjusted) than my parents though.

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Sufficient_Laugh@reddit

Where I grew we had to pay for local calls too. My parents installed a money box next to the phone.

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DrBoogerFart@reddit

As opposed to bills for a cell phone, internet, a million streaming services etc.?

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Randall_Hickey@reddit

Yeah, but our phone bills are more expensive than they used to be even with long-distance calls

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novisimo@reddit

Oh the irony of now that we can have pretty much free phone calls now, no one wants to talk on the phone. Present company included.

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Uranus_Hz@reddit

The irony being that we willingly spend so much more now for communication services that spy on us without batting an eye than we ever did for long distance phone calls.

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lowfreq33@reddit

Not just for phone calls though. Having access to literally any information you want all the time is pretty handy.

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Uranus_Hz@reddit

20% information, 5% interesting new independent content, 60% disinformation and propaganda, 15% vacuous slop

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Uffda01@reddit

ehh - I think the percentages are a bit off considering my phone has replaced my CD library; I can find new music AND never listen to commercial radio easily - but your point about social media disinfo and influencers does stand.

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Guidance-Still@reddit

How do they spy on us

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ZoneWombat99@reddit

And that we as Americans pay so much. No one else pays as much for phone service as Americans do, because we just kind of accepted the high rates?

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moopet@reddit

This thread isn't about Americans though.

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Fun-Fig-7948@reddit

Canadian here, we pay even more, sadly.

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Kailicat@reddit

What's weird is that we are like "no don't spy on us" and Gen Alpha is like "tracking. Cool. Let me see if any of my friends are around" and happily just tracks their friends around on Snapchat.

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tux1138@reddit

My phone bill is way higher now than it ever was when we paid for actual usage.

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Saviour_DK@reddit

Although we didn’t have to update and/or replace our phone(s) all that often back then; payment is still comparable…however, having a data plan / internet access totally makes up for it. Plus, I’ve moved all over this country (retired military) and have had the same number for over 25 years; overall, agree that it’s way better nowadays.

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sunfish99@reddit

I've managed to keep the same cell phone number for over 30 years, and I haven't even moved around that much. So glad to be rid of the regional/long distance call charges, too.

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NicInNS@reddit

I mean…the fact that my mom can do video calls with my sister on a whole other continent and it doesn’t cost anything (except my internet bill which I’m paying anyway) is pretty damn amazing.

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lacatro1@reddit

Absolutely this!! My best friend lived in Germany right after high-school in lived in the PNW. My phone bills were insane!

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denzien@reddit

The worst were the local toll calls. I would dial into a BBS and download stuff specifically because it was in our area code... then the $200 bill showed up...

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-Acta-Non-Verba-@reddit

Or international call bills. You can call anywhere in the world for free by using apps.

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travelinmatt76@reddit

I live in Texas and there was a girl I used to call who lived in Michigan. I had to get my parent's permission before I called her.

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063anon@reddit

long distance call to house next door because it was listed as another town

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SergeantBeavis@reddit

No kidding. Also, I’m in Japan and able to call my Dad in Tennessee using FaceTime over wifi. No extra charge.

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mumblewrapper@reddit

And, for me living in a small town 30 minutes from the big town it was long distance to call even two towns away! I think I still pay more for my cell phone though than I ever did for long distance.

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_byetony_@reddit

Roaming! Unlimited texts!

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Kuildeous@reddit

I could call my grandmother after 10 PM for the lower rate, but since she was two time zones over, she wasn't yet in bed.

Anyone else long distance I could call had all be pretty cool about midnight conversations.

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mrredbailey1@reddit

Dental care.

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DynamiteWitLaserBeam@reddit

My mom had to have surgery in 1979 and was in the hospital for a week and told weeks to recover at home. My wife had the same surgery yesterday and was cleared to go home a few hours later. Today she's a little sore, but walking around the house every few hours. Also, I ordered groceries today from my phone and they showed up at my door a couple hours later - comically wrong number of bananas, but hey, I'll take it.

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oneclayvessel@reddit

Why are bananas so difficult for them to understand? We order 5 or 6 bananas and get 4 bunches. It's so weird.

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katiekat214@reddit

I did a grocery pickup order for my mom once. She wanted bottled Cokes, but they always put two six packs per bag. She couldn’t lift that much. I noted “one per bag please”. They put one Coke per bag for one six pack before someone realized what I meant.

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oneclayvessel@reddit

Language and perception of meaning are so weird.

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DynamiteWitLaserBeam@reddit

That, or they give you 6 individual, detached bananas. I usually order the organic bananas because they only sell them in bunches with tape around them, so it's pretty clear that 1 means 1 bunch, not 1 banana. It's only when those are not available, like yesterday, when hilarity ensues.

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oneclayvessel@reddit

That's an incredible idea. Thank you.

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ArbainHestia@reddit

I don't know what it was like decades ago but I showed up for my vasotomy at 8AM and was on my way home before 8:30AM with orders to sit on the couch for the weekend and to not lift anything heavier than a remote control or beer bottle. He didn't use a needle or a scalpel and there were no stitches.

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Professional_Yak8789@reddit

Umm, a vasotomy? I don’t know what that is but if no knife and no needle did the go in the back door to cauterize your sack

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ArbainHestia@reddit

Ha! I must have spelled it wrong while typing and autocorrect corrected it wrong. No one else noticed. Vasectomy.

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FartingAliceRisible@reddit

Did he just punch you really hard in the nuts?

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im_on_the_case@reddit

The grocery thing is funny because in many ways it has come full circle from where we were 100 years ago. At least in some areas. Before the concept of a Supermarket people would give the clerk a list to gather their goods. However, in a lot places the list would get picked up and the groceries delivered.

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mom2artists@reddit

I love grocery delivery and have several friends who don’t use it. I’m confused by that! It took a minute to get over the first try but now I just hate going to the grocery. Probably my favorite part about “now.”

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cellrdoor2@reddit

Maybe I’ve just been unlucky but I absolutely hate grocery delivery. They send the wrong products entirely, even when they ask if a substitute is ok they only wait about ten seconds so it’s difficult to reply in time, and on top of that the produce they pick is terrible. And then it’s a hassle to get a refund.

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EttaJamesKitty@reddit

Same. I've always had it be a shit show - back in the Peapod days and now with Instacart and other delivery services. Shitty produce. Substitutes that are in no way a substitute. Last time I did delivery the person forgot all of my frozen food items. He bought them and bagged them but left them at the store (how that happened I have no idea). Took a while to get a refund.

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mom2artists@reddit

You know I’ve only done instacart once when I was out of town at a hotel/timeshare. I just use wm+ because I’ve been mostly happy w them. 🙂

I’ve used Sam’s delivery a couple times but they do have a fee unless it’s dry goods shipped to the home (like I’ve had them ship my ketchup and sweetener)

Because I buy a lot of very specific items (food allergies and intolerances) and just plain picky about stuff, I don’t trust the substitute feature much.

You know, I want Heinz ketchup 😇not the others, organic lactose-free milk😬, bone-in chicken thighs (not skinless boneless) 🙄etc etc Anyway that is why it was so hard to get me onboard with doing grocery delivery in the first place but now I’m happy!

Once, I was able talk my teen thru the ordering screen when I was unable to do it (idk why) so he just went thru the favorited items, added to cart and checked out, got the groceries needed delivered so the family didn’t have to wait for me to get to it. Yay! 🎉

I also started doing delivery subscription meat during Covid and love having a stocked freezer that I didn’t have to physically haul home. (It’s only been a problem during hurricane season) Still have to get a few items in stores because trying to get the best prices.

Anyway, the deliveries have made it so I’m not at the grocery 3x a week! 🙂

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mom2artists@reddit

I’ve been unsatisfied a couple times out of maybe 50 deliveries? I had broken eggs delivered, was refunded without a return. I usually tell them no substitutions. I think my biggest issue has been something like “really need milk, let me make an order for delivery, put in some other stuff I will need soon;” and I get the delivery with all the things except the milk, (was out of stock and I said no substitutions) which was what I was out of. 😕

I think the fact I’ve used delivery a lot and mostly satisfied gives me a different view where maybe you have done delivery 5 times with 2 or 3 fails, then that’s not a good average. Lol!!

Or it could just be a luck thing or the delivery in your area isn’t great. That’s too bad. 😕

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spacebarstool@reddit

I'm not a fan of the extra fees. I also dont mind walking around the store, but I dont go when its insanely busy.

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mom2artists@reddit

My closest store is a premium grocery and my Walmart is 20 mins away. So the tip for the wm delivery is basically covered by the fact I’m not overspending at the closer store. My wm+ cost includes some bonuses which makes the 10-12/month for “free” delivery worth it for me.

I like walking around stores, it’s fun but also I’ve got impulse control problems and spend too much that way! 🤣

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the_answer_is_RUSH@reddit

Well someone is literally shopping for you. That labor isn’t free.

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KeyIntelligent3341@reddit

Last night there was a delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables to my house at 1030pm. It was picked at a dark store whose location I don't know, by a stranger and brought to me by another stranger. How weird is that?

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

I remember the IGA in the small town I grew up in during the 1970s would load all your groceries into the car for ya. All you had to do was drive up by where they loaded them up and off you went.

You still shopped like normal but wasn't pushing your cart full of stuff through the parking lot.

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nerissathebest@reddit

I listened to an interesting podcast about this, Piggly Wiggly was the first place to change it up where you went and got the groceries yourself.

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moopet@reddit

This is double-edged. Yes, people get to go home earlier, but often they struggle (or the older ones I've known do). Back in the day, a couple of extra days on a ward and they'd be in much better condition to manage on their own.

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Dangerous_Abalone528@reddit

Hysterectomies are out patient surgeries!!!!! That blew my mind.

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ThisCromulentLife@reddit

10000000%. I had surgery earlier this year and they sent me home about three hours after. I definitely didn’t need weeks in the hospital, but I could’ve used a a few days there. I had to take two full weeks off work, but I had to come back to the hospital every day for a week for various checks, and my husband had to take a full week off work to help me back to the hospital and to do a whole bunch of basic things because I could not drive during that time. The amount of things he was expected to do to my surgery site was kind of nuts considering he’s not a nurse or anything like that. Luckily, I did not need a drain, but they instructed us on it before I went in just in case so I would be ‘with it’ enough to remember the instructions as well. It is sort of wild what they expect completely untrained people to do that nurses used to do for you even 15 years ago.

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ThisCromulentLife@reddit

10000000%. I had surgery earlier this year and they sent me home about three hours after. I definitely didn’t need weeks in the hospital, I could’ve used a a few days there. I had to take two full weeks off work, but I had to come back to the hospital every day for a week for various checks, and my husband had to take a full week off work to help me back to the hospital and to do a whole bunch of basic things because I could not drive during that time. The amount of things he was expected to do to my surgery site was kind of nuts considering he’s not a nurse or anything like that. Luckily, I did not need a drain, but they instructed us on it before I went in just in case so I would be ‘with it’ enough to remember the instructions as well. It is sort of wild what they expect completely untrained people to do that nurses used to do for you even 15 years ago.

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DynamiteWitLaserBeam@reddit

Very true. I work in healthcare and our hospitals are sometimes just over capacity and forced to discharge anyone who can be. The alternative is cancelling surgeries at the last second, which is an equally hard choice in many cases. This is why our hospitals have doubled in size in the last few years and are constantly working on the next expansion.

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Dangerous_Abalone528@reddit

I had foot surgery in 1999. Same surgery scheduled for my other foot in January 2026. The projected recovery time is vastly different. I hauled my ass on crutches all over a massive campus for three months. Now the typical course is a walking boot in two weeks.

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pandorumriver24@reddit

Costco delivery is my favorite. I spend so much less when I don’t physically go in the store

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epicenter69@reddit

Off-topic, but what to do with extra bananas: Let them get nicely brown-spotted and make banana bread. No baking expertise necessary. Mix, bake and eat. Slice and freeze any excess bread for another day.

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thatsmytradecraft@reddit

Reserved seating for movie theaters is way better. Sometimes you couldn’t sit next to each other - or you’d be stuck on the side or up front.

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jetpack324@reddit

My wife and I go to the movie theater 3-4 times per month. It’s an indulgence we both enjoy, and we generally choose the movie that morning. We both just really enjoy the movie experience, and what movie we see is not that important. We are retired so it is usually the cheap Tuesday matinee; we aren’t made of money!

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SmokeyOSU@reddit

in this economy?!?!?!

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jetpack324@reddit

We buy the annual popcorn bucket that is $4 for a refill and matinee priced tickets. It’s actually quite affordable if you have nothing else to do at 1:00-ish every Tuesday. Us retirees have time to search for the good deals.

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ancientastronaut2@reddit

You still go to movie theaters?

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liquilife@reddit

I love sitting at the end of the row. It’s comforting for some reason. And it’s for that reason I also enjoy reserved seating.

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Pernicious_Possum@reddit

Can you not reserve an aisle seat? Seems a shit reservation model if not. Genuinely curious because haven’t been to a theater in years

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liquilife@reddit

You can reserve aisle seats. I was implying I like having the ability to reserve an aisle seat.

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Pernicious_Possum@reddit

Ahhh. Gotcha

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yeahwellokay@reddit

Aisle seats ftw.

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NicInNS@reddit

I just wish our dumb theatre chain didn’t charge (I think it’s) $2 to buy ticket/reserve seat online. I don’t do it (unless it’s an imax movie) because it’s the principle of the thing for me, but we also either go to matinee or wait a few weeks for a new movie, so the theatre isn’t busy anyway.

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Kylynara@reddit

See, I don't care for it. Like half the time there are people in my seats when I get in there, but the theatre is mostly empty, so I gotta just grab different seats and hope I don't mess someone else up.

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Unsteady_Tempo@reddit

At this point reserved seating has been around for long enough to not cut anybody slack. I'm telling them to move. If I wasn't confrontational, I'd still ask an employee to take care of it.

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pythongee@reddit

I've never, in my life, been unable to sit with the person I was with at a movie.

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TheGreat_Powerful_Oz@reddit

Maybe 1 person but if you went with a group this was a regular thing on a busy weekend unless you wanted to get there early and wait in line.

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Unsteady_Tempo@reddit

My wife and I got to a movie during the previews and there were about 10 single seats scattered around, but not two together. There were a couple in the same row but nobody would scoot down. We asked an usher if they would tell people to scoot down a seat, but he wouldn't and gave us a refund instead.

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pythongee@reddit

Fair enough. I've only done movies with one other person.

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pikohina@reddit

Not even for ET or Star Wars? We sat in the sticky aisle for Empire.

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pythongee@reddit

Nope. But I never went on opening, or even 2nd weekend. I've never been a huge movie fan. I can wait a couple or 3 weeks to see something. These days I just wait for it to stream. Last movie I saw in the theater was Elvis.

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Most-Silver-4365@reddit

Recently, even without reserve seating, it's not much of an issue. Theater attendance is way down, and in my opinion movie releases have been crap. Definitely missed the '90s when it comes to movies.

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bhewey206@reddit

Nah - movies are better now. It’s not as homogenous as it was, but there’s still good story telling. It’s just nicer to watch from home.

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iptg@reddit

captions an improvement too

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SergeantBeavis@reddit

I do agree with you there, but the overall experience at movie theaters kinda sucks. I used to go once twice a month. Now it’s once or twice a year,,,,, if that.

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wordnerdette@reddit

Yes! I used to show up way early to get a good seat. Nice to have that all sorted ahead of time, and the seats are way comfier these days.

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PhiloLibrarian@reddit

I’ve never heard of this!!!

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illinoishokie@reddit

Prioritizing mental health and work/life balance.

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onekinkyusername@reddit (OP)

Indeed! There was no such thing when we were younger. It actually was a weakness to share this vulnerability with anyone even your family, let alone your employer.

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whereyouleftit@reddit

Banking

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MTHiker59937@reddit

Streaming music and media

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Legitimate_Radish159@reddit

Cars. They’re spaceships now. They used to be shot tanks.

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lovebeinganasshole@reddit

Job opportunities for women. I remember reading the paper and there were jobs for women, you know receptionists, secretary, etc. and jobs for men architects, lawyers, scientists.

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hoopermanish@reddit

Women can hold credit cards and buy property too

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AddendumParticular25@reddit

Married women could own property in all states by 1900. Even married women could have an independent credit identity by the early 1970s. ECOA passed in 1974, meaning that it was illegal to demand male co-signers for women’s loans, including mortgages.

This is not to say that individual banks did not keep doing shady (illegal) shit. And it’s also not to say that some husbands weren’t the only name on a family credit card. It doesn’t mean there weren’t lots of informal discouragements.

But women, even married women, could have their own credit cards and own their own property when GenX was growing up.

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hoopermanish@reddit

This answer,plus citations, is AskHistorians worthy. Thanks for setting me right!

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

I remember my mother's credit card had Mrs. my father's name on it instead of her own.

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ancientastronaut2@reddit

Til the day she died, my mother felt it necessary to add "lady" to every title if it was a woman: lady doctor, lady lawyer, lady judge, lady cop...

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CMWZ@reddit

And you often had to submit a picture with your job application too! (I think men did as well, but I feel like they probably did not get scrutinized as much.) We found my mom's "job" headshots when we were moving them out of our childhood home from the '60's! She said you'd staple them to the application and it was usually required.

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planet_rose@reddit

When did it stop? I remember it and then it was gone but I don’t remember when.

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Rikers-Mailbox@reddit

It was the 80’s into the 90’s. In like 95 I’d say.

The Boomer men went to college to avoid Vietnam. And women started going to college right after, late 70’s, early 80’s as the colleges figured out education was a big business.

My mother started out as a nurse in the late 70’s but by 1990 she was working in corporate healthcare and by 2005 was a high ranking exec making way more than my salesman father.

And then you had GenX women graduating in the late 90’s too.

Now? There’s more women graduating than men, it’s like 60% women. And every company I work with has way more women… I can’t even get a job now as a beached white male exec. Lol

My wife was the breadwinner for 23 years too.

Equality is definitely headed for an over correction.

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lovebeinganasshole@reddit

I honestly don’t remember. Sometime in the 90s? And then newspapers were gone.

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TheRealDBT@reddit

The best mechanical engineer I have ever worked with was a woman back in the early 90's. I haven't worked with a mechanical engineer who was even close to her level of skill and speed since.

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sunfish99@reddit

In the early 90s I (a woman) decided to go back to school for a career in science. My mother asked, are you planning to be a perpetual student? My father said, isn't (my intended study focus) a man's field? I went ahead with my plans anyway and had a successful career in science.

Yes, times have definitely changed on this front. Still waiting on a few old geezers to retire so that the workplace turnover to more enlightened minds is complete, but we've come a long way, baby.

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LazarGrier@reddit

Kids today are much more aware and empathetic for neurotypical students. They aren't treated as freaks anymore. That is progress.

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superpananation@reddit

The kids are alright

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Ghotipan@reddit

I am finishing my teaching degree as a non-traditional student, so this is the first time I've been in a high school setting since the early 90s. Everything seems so much more accepted now, and it's wonderful to see. Obviously there are always issues, but there's no fucking way half these kids would have had the same experience in the bigotry and intolerance that was just routine back in our day.

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bhewey206@reddit

I just started teaching 5 years ago… kids are really great. Much more accepting and supportive of each other. Adults are still the major disappointment.

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lameuniqueusername@reddit

That’s really great to hear you say that. So much is spoken about issues with “kids today” by teachers but it’s nice see something highlighted that isn’t about short attention span, thinking Helen Keller wasn’t real or 5th graders that listen to Andrew Tate.

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planet_rose@reddit

My middle school kid fell down the stairs in front of her school at pickup. Her dad picked her up so I only heard about it.

“Oh honey, your poor knees! And in front of the school, too….oh, how rotten.” blank look. “Why would it being in front of the school make a difference???” “Because the other kids….they might be mean about it.” “Oh. Like 5 people came and helped me and made sure I was ok. Everyone will hear about it but no one would make me feel bad. They’ll just ask if I’m hurt now.”

Totally different world.

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RabbitLuvr@reddit

I’m not going to address most of your comment, but… trans people are the new Satanic Panic. It’s easy to pin society’s ills on a small group of people.

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Kuildeous@reddit

Not a parent, but from what I understand, reporting bullies actually does something now?

I'm still stuck on the old days where if you tattled on a bully, nothing would be done except make the bullying even worse.

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denzien@reddit

Not if it's a coaches' son who's about to graduate and go to college on a scholarship

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ancientastronaut2@reddit

And not if the kid's parents donate to the school.

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denzien@reddit

So true. I'm glad my kid is at college now, where he can experience a different kind of bullying.

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kabekew@reddit

Or they'd just say you have to learn how to stick up for yourself or fight back.

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Grendeltech@reddit

"They're just looking for a reaction. Don't give them one and they'll stop."
Gee, Principal Asshole, that's really useful advice, when six of these dillweeds are slapping me around for no reason. God forbid you get off your ass and do something, but yeah. I need to stop reacting.

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kabekew@reddit

"Hey guys, you can just punch and slap him all you want and he doesn't even care!" Yea, that's going to make them stop.

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Grendeltech@reddit

Well, that's when Principal Asshole gets to trot out his next great "pearl of wisdom."
"It takes two to tango."

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

Nothing a bully hates more is someone standing up to them. Once that happens, the antagonist suddenly acts like the victim.

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Grendeltech@reddit

See. I know that now. In school, I was told to not engage and tell the adults in charge. Who didn't care.

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eggs_erroneous@reddit

My stepson dealt with bullying just a couple of years ago. It was bad. The school was not helpful.

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astro_nerd75@reddit

Yes! I’m always telling my 10 year old ADHD’er that he should be glad he didn’t grow up in the 80’s.

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

Or any decade before that.

Now we have RFK Jr acting like neurodivergent kids are a recent phenomenon. When they are not. They were the kids people like Jr picked on.

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mottledmussel@reddit

Or even his own "rebellious" aunt that was lobotomized.

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Last-Relationship166@reddit

Teachers at my elementary school were fucking sadistic towards neurodivergent students.

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s1l1c0n3@reddit

Holy fuck yes. If I was going through school now I'd fucking thrive and would probably get the support I needed. Back then? I was just lazy.

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astro_nerd75@reddit

I was lazy and just wasn’t trying hard enough to fit in or be organized. Nope, I’m autistic.

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kckitty71@reddit

I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 52. I wonder what my life would have looked like if anyone would have figured this out when I was a kid.

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Just-Hunter1679@reddit

Homophobia is my usual go to when this question comes up. Specifically amongst kids but everywhere really. We all used the F word constantly and anyone who was every slightly less than manly was branded for all of highschool.

Can't imagine what it must have been like for any gay students I went to school with, I'm really sorry for how I acted.

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Vivid_Meal992@reddit

That’s true but I am still confused about the huge emphasis on transgenderism… I’m not a TERF, just srsly if someone gets surgery and/or passes as the opposite sex of their birth gender, big whoopdy doo…the only time I think it matters is transmen in competitive women’s sports…and tbh idk the answer to that.

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RabbitLuvr@reddit

I’m not going to address most of your comment, but… trans people are the new Satanic Panic. It’s easy to pin society’s ills on a small group of people.

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

The arguments used are the same used against blacks, gays, and anyone else conservatives sees as the "devil".

I remember the satanic panic over Dungeon and Dragons. I remember people burning albums and cassette tapes of bands like Iron Maiden.

That mentality has not changed at all. They keep moving what is bad after society tells them to bugger off.

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vectorology@reddit

I heard the term Satanic Panic for the first time only a couple of years ago, and yet I knew instantly what it was. It was a weird time.

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Just-Hunter1679@reddit

The answer is to focus on bigger issues than the miniscule percentage of trans women athletes competing at a high level and leave it to the athletes to decide. If people spent as much energy focusing on the pay/scholarship disparity, sexism, and sexual abuse scandals our female athletes face as they do the trans panic, maybe we'd see meaningful change.

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chickensandmentals@reddit

At what percentage should we start caring about it?

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

Utah banned it over one student.

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Vivid_Meal992@reddit

V. True. Idk why there’s SO MUCH attention around it… or panic as you say.

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Chaemyerelis@reddit

Yeah gay kids were very bullied. I hear its much better now.

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Just-Hunter1679@reddit

My kids are in high school and it's a way better situation. There are new problems and there always will be, but the safe spaces that kids have now are amazing. I was at my daughter's high school jazz band concert and the boys senior basketball team was there cheering and supporting them, something I couldn't have imagined in my high school days.

There's still misogyny, racism and awful behavior, but it is better than it was.

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hannahrieu@reddit

Racism still happens but the kids react immediately. My friend’s son was called a derogatory name in gym class and all the little kids ran to the teacher. And my kid was tricked into saying something derogatory about herself and when I told the administrator the culprit was swiftly reprimanded.

At least as a culture we are raising kids to fight back.

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McGrufNStuf@reddit

Yeah, I think, as a whole, our kids today are actually better than us. They’re more empathetic, more aware of and compassionate to world issues, more tolerant. Probably not everywhere and there’s definitely always going to need generational improvements. Just saying, I think we’ve done better as parents.

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MienaLovesCats@reddit

Thank you!!! My husband and both of our teen children are on the Autism Spectrum.

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in-a-microbus@reddit

They aren't treated as freaks anymore.

I think they are, just instead of making fun of them people don't push them to succeed (source parent of a lid on the spectrum).

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Kwyjibo68@reddit

Hard disagree. I have an autistic kid, now in high school. It is a vastly different experience for him than what I saw when I was school. Kids with disabilities were at best completely othered and often separated from the rest of the students. While there are certainly some shitty kids still there, the number of very kind kids who go out of their way to be nice and inclusive amazes me. That was nonexistent in my day.

My son plays Challenger Little League and local HS baseball players volunteer at games to be buddies to the players. One of the dads told me he was so impressed with this kids - when he played baseball in HS, none of his teammates would have done anything besides be mercilessly cruel to these kids, much less help out at games.

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IAmTheGreenCard@reddit

100% this (source : also a parent of a child on the spectrum).

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Vivid_Meal992@reddit

Yes IEP’s

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aogamerdude@reddit

Just about everywhere, in the states at least even, bullying is reduced if it's not gone- maybe more online/social media (at it's recorded & dealt with), trouble is if someone wants to be a furry, depending where at, society accepts it.

[-]

CosmicCrisp11@reddit

💯

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trailrider@reddit

Treatment for HIV/AIDS. Blows my mind to think how it went from a death sentence to an almost nothing burger today. That if you catch it these days, you can still expect to live a near normal life.

Smoking. While I was a smoker back in the day, it's a good thing that it's not as acceptable now.

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matedow@reddit

I amazed at how much of a comeback smoking has made. These “kids” all grew up with it being bad and unhealthy. Now there are smoke stores everywhere. Heck, there are three in my little town.

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trailrider@reddit

I mean, you're not wrong. However, it's still not as acceptable as it was in our youth. Like I learned my dad knew I smoked back in the 80's when we visited my mom in the hospital and she handed me an ashtray. My dad was sitting beside and I fiegned shocked while asking what's that for. She replied if I wanted to lite one up. I know she knew but I didn't think my dad did. When I said that, he gave me that "are you fucking kidding me?" side-eye and "reminded" mom he wasn't suppose to know. LOL.

I had one college kid tell me he wished we could smoke on flights and I told him no he doesn't. The Navy flew me overseas to my first ship and smoking was allowed on international flights, which I thought would be great when I got onboard. And it was .... for about the first 30 minutes. For the rest of the 10 billion hrs I was on that flight, I was praying for a smoking ban. That air was so foul and I almost couldn't breath.

It was very different back then.

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saomonella@reddit

Its just not as prevalent. Unless you are at a casino, I hardly see people smoking anymore. If you do its generally someone older, and they stick out like a sore thumb.

As a former smoker, I'll break down and have one once in a while. Its hard to find people to bum you one. Its also really hard to find a lighter or matches.

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trailrider@reddit

Where do you live where it's hard to find lighters and matches? Our local Walmart sells Bic Lighters and even Zippo's. I have a couple boxes to light off our furnace every winter.

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saomonella@reddit

Not saying in stores. Of course you can get one there. Just out in public. Go ask ten people if they have a lighter on them. Unless they are smoking a cigarette, the odds are they aren't carrying one.

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trailrider@reddit

AH! Got ya. Makes sense.

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blishbog@reddit

Was that navy plane similar to a civilian one? Maybe the latter have better ventilation. We know the military doesn’t exactly prioritize health (burn pits etc)

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trailrider@reddit

It was a contracted carrier. Hawaiian Air I think. We are talking about 35 years ago. It was just a regular passenger plane like all the airlines have.

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Fluffymanolo@reddit

Is it cigarettes or vape? Kids seem to be all over vaping. I know smoke stores have a lot of vaping supplies and accessories these days as well as kratom and whatnot. At least where I live.

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Deca_Durable@reddit

Not only treatment for HIV, but prevention. All you have to do now is go on Prep (a daily pill) and you basically have a 0% chance of contracting HIV. Also as far as people that have HIV go- the meds they take bring their levels down to ‘undetectable’ level meaning they can’t even transmit it to someone else! Pretty fucking amazing.

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

And yet there is still not vaccine for it.

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Deca_Durable@reddit

Don’t know what your point is on that.

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MetalTrek1@reddit

My mom is a retired nurse. She treated AIDS patients when it WAS practically a death sentence. She was often one of the last people to see these people before they passed. So she knew how it was transmitted so I didn't give on to the fear. She gave me the facts. Also, it was considered a "gay" disease at the time. Despite being a devout Catholic and treating these people in a Catholic hospital, she wound up supporting gay rights. She told me nobody deserves to die like that. Flash forward to today and this is part of the reason why she had no problem with my own kid (her grand kid) coming out as LGBT. My Gen X ex-wife (my kid's mom) has a HUGE problem with it (which is why I sought and won custody of them) but my Boomer Catholic mom doesn't. Go figure (it's also why my kid loves my mom and wants NOTHING to do with my ex).

[-]

trailrider@reddit

Guy you replied too here. Yup! I most certainly remember the hate pastors clapping in childlike glee proclaiming it to be da gay plague! Rush Limbaugh playing Another-one Bites the Dust every time he heard of a gay dying of it. Princess Di shocking the world by touching the hand of a dying gay man who had it and all that shit.

Admittedly in high school, I didn't pay it a lot of attn because I lived in rural PA. It was my time in the Navy that drove it home. Like the time in bootcamp that I came back from a medical appt and walked into to see a guy in my company curled up on the deck bawling. Deep heavy sobbing. I was informed our instructors told him he just tested pos for HIV.

On my second boat, our command master chief told us of a kid he had to counsel. Said the kid was getting ready to get out, go to college, marry his high school GF, and all that. Told us the kid broke down on him when they gave him the bad news.

There were ports that we weren't allowed off the boat if we didn't have condoms on us. If we didn't have our own, there was a box full of them on the deck to grab them out of. The Officer Of the Deck told me he didn't care if we made balloon animals outta them. That his orders were to see them in our hands before giving us permission to go ashore.

To go from that to today seems nearly impossible.

[-]

loquent2@reddit

As terrifying as this was to kid me I find it baffling that this info wasn’t a bigger deal. Gen X has PTSD without a system update. Why isn’t there a system where you can type in your birth year and get a slew of updated info of the things you were taught?

[-]

tunaman808@reddit

Medicine, generally. I can't help by wonder if doctors had today's tech in the early 70s, my grandpa would have lived much longer. It still kind of blows my mind that: a) I had a heart attack on a Saturday night; b) my wife insisted on taking me to the hospital the next afternoon; c) the doctors verified that I had a heart attack, and with some non-invasive tests determined that one of my arteries was 94% blocked; d) the next day, Monday, they put a stent in that artery while I was awake and watching their work on monitors, and it only took 45 minutes; and e) I went home the next morning and have been fine since.

Also: music. I was just thinking the other day about how, if someone in an 80s movie or TV show mentioned an obscure-ish band (like Pylon or Hüsker Dü) you'd have to call the local college station and beg them to play a song by them.

Otherwise you had to go to your regional record store chain, which probably wouldn't have it, so you'd have to go to the hipster record store downtown and actually buy the LP or single.

Nowadays you can hop on Spotify or YouTube and hear the band instantly.

[-]

BradyBunch12@reddit

Cars are a lot better

[-]

HDC48@reddit

Technology is pretty amazing. You can call and Uber or Lyft or whatever and you can get a ride soon. Much better than those cabs, who figured the best way to get a tip was to get you there ASAP, and would scare the shit out of you with their driving.

Some taxi drivers wouldn’t go to certain areas. Uber drivers will go pretty much anywhere, at least in my experience.

If I hear a song on the radio and don’t know the name, I can just use my phone and get the song within seconds. Then I can find it and download it.

It was much harder when I was growing up. Taping stuff off the radio and dubbing it. Even after Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and Snoop’s Doggystyle albums blew up and were all over the radio/MTV, I couldn’t find their song Deep Cover at the record stores. The song/movie had come out a few months before The Chronic. Eventually I waited until the movie was on TV. I recorded it on VHS. I went to the end of the movie when they played the song, took a tape recorder and put it to the TV speaker. That’s how I was able to listen to that song for awhile.

[-]

SirReddalot2020@reddit

Almost everything.

Anyone who says otherwise is just proving that ignorance is bliss.

The only thing that is worse now is that anyone can have an audience of billions, no matter how bad/weird/dangerous their views are.

[-]

musing_codger@reddit

Almost everything. Streaming music. Movies and TV shows on demand. Smartphones. Cheap airfare. GPS. Cars are faster, safer, more fuel efficient, and more comfortable. Audio books. Ebooks. What isn't?

[-]

GrandPriapus@reddit

The availability of music. Growing up it was what was on the radio or MTV. There was so much more out there, but short of buying random albums at the record store, you’d be hard pressed to find it.

[-]

kinetic_cheese@reddit

Adding to this, the accessibility of music. If teenage me knew there would be a device that I could listen to pretty much any song I wanted to, at any given time, I would have had a stroke.

[-]

sapphirerain25@reddit

Every day I still can't believe it's real

[-]

mahjimoh@reddit

This is one of my favorite things, too. Amazing.

[-]

spcynudls99@reddit

we were younger.

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gofargogo@reddit

Hard to believe, but there’s a lot that’s better. Cars, especially used cars, are way way better. Safer too. Food options are better pretty much everywhere in the US. There’s a lot more shit too, but there are so many more options, especially for folks with allergies. Awareness and treatment of mental health is a big one too.

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the_answer_is_RUSH@reddit

More food options but our food supply is shittier.

[-]

zapatocaviar@reddit

Yeah, no idea what this guy means by “food” is better. Processed, more expensive, etc. I guess technically there was a minute where we were spraying worse chemicals on them… but we were pumping fewer hormones and varietals were healthier overall… so no.

[-]

Synensys@reddit

Food is signficantly less expensive relative to incomes even with the recent run-up of inflation. Its also much more varied - i can get way more kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables than in the 80s at a regular grocery store and several niche grocery stores have even more variety.

And eating out is even more varied.

You are being cynical and not at all realistic.

[-]

zapatocaviar@reddit

Ha. I completely disagree with this. Sure you can get exotic fruits out of season…. lol.

And eating out? Ok, there are more fusion cuisine restaurants I guess… but it’s more expensive to eat out now.

Maybe you’re from somewhere semi-rural or Midwest? I’m from LA and we always had produce and good restaurants…

But none of this makes up for the garbage they put in our food and the price of anything quality. The vast majority of food in the US is low quality, mass produced. The fact that you can get dragonfruit in Boise doesn’t make up for that.

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the_answer_is_RUSH@reddit

You know why it’s gotten less expensive? Because we are using the worst ingredients. Why is guar gum needed in my ice cream? Remember those commercials where the kids read the ingredients in the ice cream? It’s all like that now.

We use chemicals to extract “food” from the weirdest things and sell it cheap because it’s more “shelf stable” and can easily be shipped.

Feed lots of gigantic proportions allow beef to be more easily grown. In Catch Me If You Can, a steak dinner was a major thing. Now you can go to outback and get some bullshit for $20. It’s cheaper to buy a cheeseburger than a head of broccoli. No our food supply isn’t getting better. There’s just more of it.

[-]

_byetony_@reddit

Baby car seats, better regulated

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

Omg right. My mother brought us all home from the hospital in a basket on the backseat. I always picture us sliding around like Matilda.

[-]

unclejoe1917@reddit

Remember when olive oil was some kind of exotic ingredient and muellers, San Giorgio and creamette were your choices for brands of pasta?

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gofargogo@reddit

I remember getting excited there was more than one kind of tomato. And when bagels and tortillas started showing up in normal grocery stores.

[-]

astro_nerd75@reddit

I was talking to my kid in the car today, and the subject of feelings came up. I ended up saying to him that, when I was a kid, people didn’t really think of kids’ feelings as important.

The only way feelings might have come up in conversation with my Silent Gen mom is if she wanted to yell at me for hurting somebody’s feelings, or if she wanted to tell me that my negative feelings meant I was bad and ungrateful. Yeah, I try hard to parent differently.

[-]

gofargogo@reddit

Good on you for trying to parent differently. My kids (who aren't kids anymore) are so much more open and aware of their emotions than we were growing up. They are also a lot less tolerant of shitty treatment, and bad relationship patterns than my peers seemed to be at similar ages. Like with everything, it's not consistent with everyone, but I think it's better for most. Their professional prospects, and housing affordability however are worse then we faced, and far far worse than our parents faced.

[-]

SnooMarzipans5409@reddit

Agree with everything you said outside of cars. After having to pay an arm and a leg to have a mechanic change my car battery when I was always able to do it myself but now it's in an impossible to reach spot that only a professional can reach is ridiculous. Along with how much more expensive car batteries are on top of that. Your other points regarding food and mental health are spot on though.

[-]

gofargogo@reddit

I agree that cars have gotten a lot harder to DIY, but it also depends on which car you buy. I had to be come a diy mechanic when I was young, because I couldn't afford a mechanic at all, and my cars needed a lot more regular servicing. I still do all my own oil/filter/brake changes and it's not much harder than it was in 80s and 90s. Belts are a pain in the ass, compared to the 2 or 3 belt systems in the cars I grew up on, but they last a lot longer too.

[-]

gofargogo@reddit

“Are things better?” Is one of those deals where it’s not consistent. But my car has 200k miles on it, and it’s never needed anything but consumables and rear shock airbags. I can’t think of any car I owned up until the mid 2000s that would’ve been as reliable. And like day in, day out reliable.

[-]

jsamuraij@reddit

This. I used to have to work on my cars because shit was going wrong that required attention all the time. Now? I never even think about it. You just turn it on and go.

[-]

Illustrious-Ratio213@reddit

Even simple stuff like headlights can require major disassembly but the cars are still better than in the 80s

[-]

mahjimoh@reddit

Cars are a lot safer, though. Good with the bad.

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Funkgun@reddit

Agree on this point. I could change a lot on my old car. I can’t do much of anything on a new one.

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mumblewrapper@reddit

Maybe we have more access to food than before? But the quality of the food is not better. Corn syrup in everything, shrinkflation, most everything in restaurants comes from Sysco, etc. Things don't taste the same as they used to, even the shitty food used to be better quality.

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gofargogo@reddit

Like with most things, it's better and worse. There are more food options for people with allergies, and the produce in my local store is way better than it was in 1985. There are a lot more local producers available, and heirlooms varieties, spices and sauces, gluten-free and vegetarian options that didn't exist in my childhood. There's also a lot more badly processed food available, and corn syrup is a scourge.

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EmmerdoesNOTrepme@reddit

As someone who likes to cook, 100% that "access" thing!

You can get most fruits & veggies year round out in the part of Rural MN where I grew up, it's no longer seasonal.

You can get so many ingredients that would never have been accessible when I was growing up, which are imported from all over the world, too!

When I was a kid, if my mom wanted to make Chinese food at home (she took a community education class in the late 70's/early 80's, from a teacher who was Chinese), we had to get the ingredients like fermented black bean paste/sauce in either St. Cloud or the Twin Cities-yiu couldn't find it in any of the counties near where we lived.

Now, you can get things like that, and chili garlic paste at the local Walmart and plenty of the grocery stores.

You can get so many herbs, spices, and seasonings, grains, pastas, condiments, olives, breads, etc, too!

Lots of things aren't better!

But the food, and access to so many cool things you can eat?

Sooooo much better now, than back then!

[-]

the_answer_is_RUSH@reddit

Have you ever thought of the environmental impact of having access to that food year round? Or even if you don’t care about the environment, how exactly they’re preserving that food to get to you across 2000 miles?

[-]

suffaluffapussycat@reddit

Awareness of sexual assault and abuse.

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gofargogo@reddit

Oh 100%. Far more acceptance (warning, acceptance is not evenly distributed) of LGBTQ folks too. There are thousands of things that are better now.

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YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

And some are trying to regress back to when things were shitty for certain communities.

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Trees_are_cool_@reddit

Fast food was way better in the 80s and 90s.

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Orome2@reddit

Cars, especially used cars, are way way better. Safer too.

Not sure I agree with this. Cash for clunkers ruined the used car market. And as for safety, gigantic trucks and SUVs don't make anyone more safe except maybe the people driving them. Vehicles aren't safety tested for what they encounter on the road, but rather same size / same mass.

[-]

Synensys@reddit

The downside of cars that last forever is that there are fewer used cars a year. Cash for clunkers was 15 years ago - its no longer an issue.

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respondwithevidence@reddit

Yes! Cars that just ... start. Even when it's cold. No propping open the choke plate, no spray start. It's nice.

[-]

Junior_Lavishness_96@reddit

Mental healthcare has been kinda stagnant in the last 20 years, but between 85 and 2005 it improved by leaps and bounds, before that it wasn’t treated as a medical problem.

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SpecialStrain5329@reddit

Definitely the weed

[-]

Extension-Rabbit3654@reddit

Tons of stuff, car reliability and safety, health care, gps, free texts or long distance calls, computers in general, school/college accessibility

Things that are worse, house hold appliance/tool durability, housing costs, sense of community, pay scales, food quality, movie quality, cost of living.

Many of the essentials are worse today, but the small pleasures are far better

[-]

Ok_Mood_891@reddit

Air conditioning in cars

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epicenter69@reddit

…and homes.

Even school buses have AC now! When I rode the bus, we were one of the last stops. We were in charge of putting all the windows up.

[-]

MegaRadCoolDad@reddit

First one on. Last one off.

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GlomBastic@reddit

School was a 10 hour deal. I had to be at the bus stop at 6:30.

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MegaRadCoolDad@reddit

Yup, I'm at the bus stop every day with the kids. On the bus at 6:28 am, off 3:49 pm. The times were roughly the same when i was a kid.

I was home just in time for Duck Tails, Thunder Cats, Animaniacs, Tiny Toons...

[-]

epicenter69@reddit

Ch ch ch Chip ‘N Dale!

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tgrantt@reddit

Me too, every second month. Well, the month I was first on I wasn't last off. Early bus, late bus

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oldscotch@reddit

Cars in general, far better than they used to be.

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Reader47b@reddit

Sexual harassment of girls and women is less tolerated than it used to be.

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Reader47b@reddit

Music, movie, and literature access, but that has its flip-side in creating more segregated culture and less unity around these things. Still, I love how much is available to me in these categories, instantly, to consume and how fun it is to happen upon things and enjoy them. Less fun is not necessarily easily finding people to share that enjoyment with.

[-]

JoeFromStPaul@reddit

Materials. Everything from plastics to metal alloys to fabrics. It's pretty mind blowing the advancements that have been made.

[-]

Rvaldrich@reddit

Toys.

Have you played with modern GI Joe's or Transformers? Night and f#*king day. Modern toys are sturdier, more poseable, more intuitive, more screen-accurate. The list goes on.

Classic He-man toys had six points of articulation and a couple of accessories. Modern ones have twice the joints and a dozen accessories.

[-]

Distinct_Plankton_82@reddit

YouTube.

I can learn almost any skill at any time of day in the comfort of my own home.

I had to replace the power side mirror on my truck recently. Something that in 1992 would have meant driving to an auto parts store, ordering the Haynes manual and trying to decipher the diagrams.

Instead I watched 2 different video tutorials on exactly how to do it while I sat taking a dump.

Likewise, I wanted to learn a song in the piano. Something that would have involved driving to a music store, ordering the sheet music, going back to the music store a week later, picking it up, spending hours trying to get the fingering right or possibly driving to a piano teacher’s house for a lesson.

Today I punch in the name of the song and ‘piano tutorial’ into YouTube and I can watch 3 different people explain in detail how they play it and what fingering they use and what little tricks they use to make it easier to play. Crazy!

[-]

ExtraAd7611@reddit

The one thing YouTube won't show you while taking a dump is how to take a dump.

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Distinct_Plankton_82@reddit

Is that like when you type Google into Google and it breaks the whole internet?

[-]

throwawaid72@reddit

I'm not going to search but I think this is a skill that people are not universally aware of.

[-]

LoganShang@reddit

Have you seen some of the public toilets.

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throwawaid72@reddit

Why is do grown men have stains on their underwear?

[-]

monkeyswithknives@reddit

Imagine looking that up as you're going and realizing you started wrong.

[-]

GrapplingHobbit@reddit

Oh god, it's coming out sideways!

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NoTomorrowNo@reddit

Yeah, but I feel for each "fastest result and widest choice" applied to a field of life, the true price is loss of human connection.

You d ve established a relationship of sorts with the people helping you achieve your goals back then, but now people tend to point you to Google or ChatGPT if you ask any question that isn t about them, even when looking for emotional support. Even some acquaintances.

Like in your example, instead of discovering a maybe very interesting piano teacher who d ve become one of your acquaintances (or more), you re alone in your loo.

I m becoming increasingly uneasy about these "improvements" as time goes by.

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Appropriate-Weird492@reddit

I hear what you’re saying.

But if you’re “not the right gender” to learn how to do a thing and you struggle with constrictive gender roles, like a guy who wants to learn to make bobbin lace, YouTube and ilk can be helpful.

Or if you have social anxiety and want to get the right lingo before talking to actual people about whatever.

[-]

NoTomorrowNo@reddit

Yeah for sure, useful tools.

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ancientastronaut2@reddit

Several years ago, I had a job that required heavy use of Excel. I googled youtube videos every time I needed a new formula or how to do a vlookup or pivot table or whatever and was able to learn what I needed in five minutes. Bosses had no idea and thought I was an excel guru. 😂

[-]

spasske@reddit

There have been several comments “we can’t fix cars anymore!” There is a good chance there are YouTube videos showing you how to fix your car. Usually you can find several and many helpful comments about the process.

Haynes manuals often seemed to gloss over a lot.

[-]

Distinct_Plankton_82@reddit

Yes and no.

Let’s take something simple like changing spark plugs. In 1990 I could open the hood of most cars and change the spark plugs in 10 minutes.

Now on my truck, I have to remove an intake manifold just to get at the damn things. Sure there’s videos, but it’s become insanely complicated to do even the simple jobs.

[-]

syman67@reddit

Prices if you like them higher!!

[-]

DeFiClark@reddit

Produce in grocery stores

International food in grocery stores

Medicine (both drugs and doctors)

Fuel economy and reliability of cars

Coffee

Navigating on road trips

Translation

[-]

xxDailyGrindxx@reddit

Video Games

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Timely-Youth-9074@reddit

Most things are better now except the economy and the distribution of wealth.

[-]

MurkyResolve6341@reddit

The sum total of human knowledge in your hand. That you can just look things up instantly is crazy.

[-]

CptBronzeBalls@reddit

And somehow many people seem to be getting more and more stupid.

[-]

Ribbitygirl@reddit

The absolute wackadoos of the world used to be "the crazy shut-in lady down the road" or "the angry religious nutter with a sign" that people generally avoided. Now they have a worldwide platform to spread their nonsense, and somewhere along the line people decided that respecting differing views meant giving the wackadoos equal credit to experts. It's frustrating.

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ancientastronaut2@reddit

Because they can have the answers in seconds, so why actually learn anything?

[-]

epicenter69@reddit

The consequence of having the world’s knowledge in your hand is that there is no need to retain the memory of it.

Remember when you had 10 or more telephone numbers memorized? Now, I can barely remember my own.

[-]

rab-byte@reddit

That is exactly correct.

[-]

siliconsmiley@reddit

Cause and effect.

[-]

mumblewrapper@reddit

I'd give it all up to go back to the way it was before. I wouldn't get rid of the internet, just smart phones. Having this thing in our hands is the worst thing that's ever happened to the world, IMO. Keep the internet, just only accessible at home on your PC.

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

The other day when I was walking my dog, and I saw a young woman across the street looking at her phone while walking her dog on a retractable leash. The dog took a shit in some grass and she never once looked up at her phone and saw, let alone picked it up. She just kept walking, looking at her phone.

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StG4Ever@reddit

Keep the internet but to hell with “social” media.

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mumblewrapper@reddit

Yes. But even if social media is a thing, no phones. Only computers at home. If we all had to walk away and do life without that in our hands we would probably be ok.

[-]

baconography@reddit

The elimination of the old "bar debate".

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anothercynic2112@reddit

Yet more people now believe the the world is flat.

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MurkyResolve6341@reddit

No...we just know they exist now. They used not to have a platform besides the corner barstool they occupy daily.

[-]

PhiloLibrarian@reddit

False, not all human knowledge has been digitized and of what is, only a small percent is openly/freely available.

[-]

Coup-de-Glass@reddit

Dwight?

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PhiloLibrarian@reddit

False. Beets. Bears. Battlestar Galactica.

(It’s my “Jim impression of Dwight” actually)

[-]

Coup-de-Glass@reddit

🤣

gif

Dwight is my favorite!

[-]

egret_society@reddit

The true “better today”. 21st century TV is so much better both in quantity and quality. Movies not so much, unfortunately. There are more movies but they’re generally pretty hollow in comparison. It was fun seeing comic books come to life for a while but the thrill has kinda worn off.

[-]

wordnerdette@reddit

Identity theft is not a joke!

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100_cats_on_a_phone@reddit

Unfortunately I think we might be exiting a temporary golden age there, at least for a bit, due to ai & the feedback loop.

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NoTomorrowNo@reddit

Well, I mean, one thing has not changed : the most specialised, deeply seriously researched, truly useful and/or profound knowledge is only found in books. Or behind paywalls.

[-]

GarionOrb@reddit

AI is starting to ruin this, though.

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in-a-microbus@reddit

"I use it to look at pictures of cats and argue with strangers"

[-]

Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit

If only the things you saw in your hand were true. But that’s never going to change.

[-]

williammunnyjr@reddit

GPS, cell phones, seat belts to name a few.

All brought to us by our government.

[-]

possibly--me@reddit

Google maps

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floporama@reddit

The AAA TripTiks (probably spelled wrong) that we would go get before road trips. I drove with my sister from Atlanta to Salt Lake City in 1999 and it was the first trip we’d done with Mapquest instead of the AAA maps. I think our mom was paranoid that the internet directions would steer us wrong

[-]

RealtorFacts@reddit

I’ll throw EZ Pass onto this one as well.

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cool_side_of_pillow@reddit

Knowing the exact traffic slowdowns and where they are, with dynamic re-routing based on the latest traffic snarls is pretty amazing,

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

Although, it does make mistakes. One day last week there was a slow down and when I got a little further up, there was debris in the road everyone was trying to avoid. Not until after I already passed it, did the maps app tell me there was a road hazard "in a quarter mile".

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RunsWithPremise@reddit

There was a short window of Map Quest being the king before Google. Prior to that, it was maps from AAA and local city maps. At one time, I had a glovebox full of AAA maps.

[-]

Dinojeezus@reddit

I used to mirror print Mapquest pages and put them on the dashboard to get a HUD view of the map on my window. Worked great during the daytime! Haha.

[-]

Uffda01@reddit

there was a short window of TomToms and Magellans too!

[-]

RunsWithPremise@reddit

Very true. I had a Garmin that suction cupped to my windshield.

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baconography@reddit

I was a delivery driver in SoCal in the late 80s. Each van had a stack of Thomas Bros. map books.

[-]

absolutezero78@reddit

My trip around the US to national parks was possible by the road map atlas. Right before MapQuest days. It's always fun when the roads had been updated and you had an older map.

[-]

Phineasfool@reddit

Rand McNally

[-]

Alltheprettydresses@reddit

Hagstroms

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mitkase@reddit

I remember quitting a job driving for an auto parts store in the early 90s because I got tired of constantly getting lost driving around endlessly in the suburbs. That wouldn’t even be an issue these days. Kinda crazy.

[-]

FourthDownThrowaway@reddit

My car broke down in cold weather years ago so I called a tow truck. After an hour of freezing my butt off I called him back and he said he was lost because there were so many roads in the area with similar names. I asked him why didn’t he just use his GPS he replied “I know these streets like the back of my hand.” Me: well you obviously don’t know their names

[-]

RunsWithPremise@reddit

I had a parts delivery job for a short time also. I bought a local city street map to help me.

[-]

theplussizemagnet@reddit

Unless your Gmaps leads you to a pond lol

[-]

EttaJamesKitty@reddit

While I think mapping applications are great, I've also found they've resulted in a learned helplessness. People just don't learn how to navigate around their cities without assistance. I know people who have lived in my city for over a decade who use Google Maps to drive, to walk, to take public transit. They never bothered to learn our street grid, our major streets, our highways, anything.

I also see this on the travel subs I frequent. People relying solely on the mapping application on their phone to get around. Not learning how to identify landmarks near their hotel or places of interest. Not being able to read a paper map from a tourist info center.

Ok I'm going to go yell at some clouds now.

[-]

jbenze@reddit

Ugh I used to deliver and setup hospital equipment in Manhattan and surrounding areas. The maps and even eventually Mapquest directions would be so out of date sending you down roads that weren’t there anymore or the wrong way down one way streets, the wrong addresses for drop off, etc.

[-]

Ok-Heart375@reddit

Yes and no. A party of my mind has melted away since Google maps. Using Google maps all the time, I don't actually know where I am, but when I used to use maps I would really understand where I was and what else was around and I would remember how to get back.

[-]

YogurtclosetFair5742@reddit

Google maps needs to do a better job of being accurate. I get told by Google maps to make left hand turns on to a street with right hand turns only. Or down a private road you can't drive on being it's blocked off.

[-]

jonny_mal@reddit

This. So much this

[-]

Trees_are_cool_@reddit

Maps were paper.

[-]

praetorian1979@reddit

Until your wife is telling you to turn "left" because that's what google/siri/alexa told her to do. If you make that left you're driving straight into the ocean...

[-]

Litter_Alli@reddit

Orthodontics. We were categorically straight up abused by those wires and brackets! I still have scars!

Now there’s not an ounce of discomfort, and that’s with basic metal hardware, not even counting Invisalign!

[-]

Regular_Number5377@reddit

Banking. I get it’s a shame that branches are closing, but holy shit I don’t miss having to physically go to a bank to wait in a massive queue to do a bank transfer twice a month, using my lunch break to do so because for some unfathomable reason we had set up a society where everyone worked 9-5 Monday-Friday and Al essential services were open 9-5 Monday-Friday.

[-]

AestheticSalt@reddit

Social manipulation…

[-]

averyfinefellow@reddit

Streaming music is better than buying CDs

[-]

MistaC5050@reddit

Depression

[-]

Hell_Camino@reddit

Cancer survival rates are much better

[-]

ToxicGenXBaddAss@reddit

Porn! I don’t have e to go a rent it at the video store.

[-]

Edm_vanhalen1981@reddit

Getting concert tickets is very easy now. Gone are the days of waiting in lines for hours outside a shopping centre or concert venue.

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

Yeah but all the fucking fees

[-]

TheJunkFarm@reddit

yeah but they are $500

[-]

Synensys@reddit

Because much of the rest of what we buy is cheaper relativr to incomes. Tech, food, clothes, non live entertainment.

So we splurge on live entertainment which js necessarily limited.

[-]

Edm_vanhalen1981@reddit

Yeah, I was going to mention that but that has not gotten better. Legalized scalping or as they call it dynamic pricing.

[-]

Fullonski@reddit

Honestly, with all of the bullshit around surge pricing, bots, resale chicanery, I'd rather queue at a shopping center. At least that way you know the people who want it the most get the good tickets (well, mostly).

Ticketmaster can totally get fucked

[-]

GarionOrb@reddit

In 2018, Nine Inch Nails embarked on a tour that only sold tickets in person. From what I read online, fans had an absolute blast doing this!

[-]

GarionOrb@reddit

Now you have to fight an army of bots that snatch up all the seats, and you're forced to pay $500-2000 depending on the artist as a result.

[-]

moquate@reddit

It is easier but definitely not better.

[-]

TheJunkFarm@reddit

Yeah back in the day they used to actually break up monopolies. that's def not gotten better.

[-]

Lesh_Philling@reddit

The marijuana.

[-]

Overall-Avocado-7673@reddit

The correct question should be what is worse today because almost everything we have today is far superior to anything we had in the 80s. I'm talking tvs, stereos, gaming systems, cars, computers, etc.

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

Not appliances. They're built to last about seven years now, not thirty.

[-]

fezmid@reddit

Instant access to movies and music and TV shows. Nobody savors a new album, admiring the artwork and reading the liner notes. Nobody explores a video store as a family to decide what movie to rent. Heck, people usually use their phone during a movie, even at the theater.

I guess the broader answer is "attention span." We don't have one anymore. Watch a movie or show from today versus the 70s ans you'll see even the cuts are faster now.

[-]

Just-Hunter1679@reddit

Sports as well! I'm sitting in my car watching Redzone on a Sunday morning while my kid is at soccer practice, HD quality on my little pocket television.

Back in the day you were stuck watching whatever "the man" told you to watch.

[-]

fezmid@reddit

I'm saying instant access is bad, not good lol. But I will agree that instant access to sports is better!

[-]

Just-Hunter1679@reddit

Honestly, just read the first sentence and wanted to chip in, lol.

I don't know how I feel about all of the on demand media. On the one hand, having all of this choice and power to watch what I want, when I want, is great, and it should be better. But, it was so much easier to have the TV on and to plan out your night to watch a show. "Can't go tonight, x-files is on!"

And you could also just "turn on the TV", no connecting, launching an app, finding a show.. you would just.. turn on the TV.

[-]

Overall-Avocado-7673@reddit

I don't watch commercials anymore, but i spend 45 minutes trying to find a show to watch. Not sure which option is better.

[-]

Just-Hunter1679@reddit

I think the 2002-2008 era with DVR's was the best. Still had TV but could record some shows, but live events on TV were still a thing.

[-]

tedlyb@reddit

We had some killer stereos in the 80’s and 90’s. There are many ways cars are superior now, but there are also many ways cars were superior then too. Gaming systems are light years ahead, but we no longer have the universal experience of going to the arcade or the game area.

Things are mostly better in many ways.

Life and what we experience, not so much.

Things are tamed, safe, sanitized, and observable by the world.

I am envious of a lot of things kids have today.

I do terribly miss the adventures and experiences we had available to us though.

[-]

MeanWafer904@reddit

Gaming systems are light years ahead, but we no longer have the universal experience of going to the arcade or the game area.

Also when was the last time you heard anyone borrowing a game? The two of you swapping a cartridge in school. Renting games too. Going to your mates to play 2 player or more. We've lost that tactile experience across a lot of things.

[-]

Overall-Avocado-7673@reddit

That's a big one. Nobody plays video games together anymore. You play multiplayer games, but you're alone at your house doing it.

[-]

NoTomorrowNo@reddit

Actually, Hi Fi system actualy were much better then.

A friend of mine was looking to change part or all of her 80s Hi Fi system because one unit was broken, and the guy told her to hold onto them, there s nothing even approaching the quality of sound it delivers on the market for non professional musicians. Especially the speakers, she has those massive wooden cased furniture-sized ones.

Sure we have access to almost any music ever played in history, and AI slop, at the end of our finger, but we listen to it on crap speakers.

[-]

the_answer_is_RUSH@reddit

I disagree. We have 80 hour rpgs in 4K HDR at 60fps but I’ve never had more fun than space invaders on my Atari 2600.

I have all of recorded music in my app but sitting down with a brand new album and reading the liner notes was the best.

I can message any of my contacts but I never say anything of note. Meanwhile my handwritten letters from college meant so much.

So no, I don’t truly believe all our technology is better.

[-]

Synensys@reddit

You can still play space invaders and not just your old copy.

[-]

NoTomorrowNo@reddit

You know what, I ve realised recently that younger actors reading out letters don t seem to know how to play them right.

They always feel lighter and less involved in what is being said than anyone would ve been writing a personal letter ... and then it hit me : this is an experience they ve never had. They ve never written one and waited days of weeks for the answer

They have no clue how much thought and feelings went in those. They were so much more charged in emotion than a text can be, just because our feelings and thoughts kinda infused during the wait for an answer, and they grew more intricate, detailed and strong. And not just love letters, even in correspondance with penpals we shared more personal things than we do today with same level relationships.

[-]

WizardMastery@reddit

The one big thing today that is worse is people being addicted to their phones and social media. Ironically social media has made people much less social than they used to be.

[-]

damnyankeeintexas@reddit

Entertainment in general. I am almost never bored. I can always mess around on my phone while waiting in line. Listen to an audiobook or podcast while driving or walking. Communication is way better. Access to information is better.

Sometimes I go camping/hunting just to sit for a few days and be unplugged and just learn to be alone with my thoughts.

[-]

WerewolfCurious1412@reddit

Ordering groceries online and picking them up. Limiting impulse purchases.

[-]

kaz1976@reddit

Cataract surgery. My grandfather had cataract surgery in the 80s and had to stay in the hospital for three days. I had cataract surgery in 2019 and went out for breakfast with my dad while still pleasantly high on twilight sedation.

[-]

Jimbo-McDroid-Face@reddit

I think… going to blockbuster and waiting in line was not something we enjoyed, but we made the best of it by making it a ceremonial and ritualistic “tradition.” We learned that “tradition” is a valuable tool, and like most tools, it becomes obsolete, and we will remember it and appreciate what it did for us.

[-]

astro_nerd75@reddit

Teen pregnancy is pretty much a thing of the past. I think now there are more women giving birth after age 40 than there are teenagers having babies.

Crime is much lower than it was when we were younger.

Acid rain is much less of a problem (at least in the US and Canada) than it was.

The ozone layer is regenerating.

I realized a few years ago that my garage doesn’t smell like my parents’ garage did. I suspect this has to do with cleaner car engines now.

Nobody I know under 60 does those stupid holiday newsletters any more. A few of them do holiday cards, but I’m not a freak for not doing them.

If you want to decorate your house with lights, it’s much cheaper now with LED’s. Commonwealth Edison calculated that the light display in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation would have cost $3,700 per month (in 2019 dollars) in electricity. An equivalent LED display would cost $63 per month to run.

[-]

spasske@reddit

Hadn’t thought much about teen pregnancy but it is down 77 % .

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

I have a feeling there's also less sexual activity as well, but I haven't looked it up. Just feels to me there's less IRL interaction.

[-]

CMWZ@reddit

And if you DO get pregnant as a teen, you are not sent off in shame to an unwed mother's home so your baby can be taken away, never to be spoken of again.

[-]

Athame-and-Alchemy@reddit

Driving somewhere unknown with GPS instead of a scrappy, hand-drawned map on a napkin.

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

Or verbal directions telling you to mostly go by landmarks.

[-]

Embarrassed_Cat2697@reddit

Weed is finally legal (here) and you can go buy weed at the weed store. I’m living 15 year old me’s dream. And I can get gummies now, too!

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

It's also sooo much more potent.

[-]

Horace-Pinkerr@reddit

Sometimes as im driving home from the weed store, I think back to spending hours trying to track down and meet up with someone to buy a shitty bag of shitty brick weed that probably cost more than what I just bought

[-]

loquent2@reddit

Don’t forget that shitty brick weed guy always had a long ass explanation of the quality and origin of said shit weed. Dude we’re doing an illegal activity and I don’t need to be sold on something I chased you down to buy.

[-]

MarandTierra@reddit

I’ve thought about this too. I remember we’d page someone from a payphone and wait for them to call back or drive around visiting people who we thought might have it.

I visited the city I went to college in, which is in a state where it’s legal and public smoking isn’t really enforced. I saw students near campus smoking openly in a park or while on a walk, and you knew it was high quality stuff they got at one of the chic dispensaries. I thought “these kids have NO idea how good they have it!” Lol

[-]

FullRedact@reddit

In 2008 an 1/8th of top shelf MEDICAL weed with 17% THC (which was about as high as THC got back then) was $60.

These days i get an entire ounce (8x as much) of RECREATIONAL weed at 32%+ out the door for $56 (during happy hour). And that’s with 30% taxes.

In SoCal.

[-]

mitkase@reddit

A couple of years ago, I was at a dispensary next to another GenXer, and I said “Can you believe we can do this after all these years?” And we both chuckled sensibly. And then he offered to smoke me out in the parking garage.

[-]

NotEasilyConfused@reddit

That last sentence sounds dirtier than it ought to.

[-]

mitkase@reddit

Right?

[-]

sugarlump858@reddit

My son just tried gummies for the first time. My mom side is freaking out. My baby. Then I remember he's 21 now. I get no say. He's funny as shit when he's high. Then he thought it would be hilarious to take 3 more.

[-]

Embarrassed_Cat2697@reddit

Oh, my!

[-]

tedlyb@reddit

First time I went to Colorado I had to go to a dispensary. It was 16 year old me’s dream come true.

“Ok, I want body buzz, mellow, that can help me sleep and can help with ptsd.”

“Ok, we’ve got 5 options for you but these two will be the best, in my opinion.”

“… Whoa… Sold. How much for a quarter?”

“$45”

“You’re shitting me… I was paying that much for Mexican brick weed 35 years ago!

How much can I have?!”

[-]

90Carat@reddit

A coworker and I were talking about shitty old Mexican brick weed today. I do not miss that at all.

[-]

PhiloLibrarian@reddit

Ohhh yes!! WFH, legal weed, streaming tv… what a time to be alive…

[-]

possumfish13@reddit

Shopping. If it can't be found at a local retail store, just order it online. I buy more stuff online than I do in stores, simply because I find exactly what I want, and I don't have to drive around looking for it. Plus, the convenience of having it delivered to my home.

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

Remember going to several stores to find your size? Or sometimes the person working at one location would call ahead and have them hold your size for you while you drove across town to get it.

[-]

GarionOrb@reddit

Christmas shopping for my nieces and nephews is SO easy. Just order it online and have it shipped right to their house...with gift wrap!

[-]

Soylent_Milk2021@reddit

Listening to music from my phone in the car, it seamlessly starts playing in my home, and continuing to listen with headphones if I go outside. Bluetooth is the shit.

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

I still prefer the radio in the car believe it or not. I like the unpredictability.

[-]

NoTomorrowNo@reddit

I lean, sure, but we had walkmans.

[-]

schwing710@reddit

Medicine. I have Crohns and it wasn't even medically treatable until the late '90s. People just had to suffer with it before that, apparently.

[-]

ancientastronaut2@reddit

Similarly, one of my aunts died from undiagnosed celiacs.

[-]

epicenter69@reddit

…and having your phone remind you to take them!

[-]

schwing710@reddit

That is also extremely key. Having it automatically set up in my phone calendar makes everything a breeze.

[-]

Kwyjibo68@reddit

Same, except for severe psoriasis and arthritis. Life changing medications.

[-]

Financial_Cheetah875@reddit

Television picture quality.

[-]

Ellen6723@reddit

Better access to up to date information on everything is available to all now. Encyclopedia Brittanica aged with pace.

That said unfortunately as we have developed this immediate transfer of information we (and by that I mean Zuckerberg and the rest of the twats that innovated to create current online world) Gabe zero consideration for any measure of accountability or accuracy in any of the content online. So that’s a problem.

See loads of humans taking horse dewormer instead of vaccine during a global pandemic. See people convinced Tom Hanks et al eat babies. See emergence of the concepts of ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news’

[-]

JavierLNinja@reddit

Cars.

A lot more efficient, a lot safer, much more comfortable and reliable.

Also tech. While vintage tech and 1990s internet will always be a piece of nostalgia for me, tech has made an undeniable leap forward without which nothing would be the way it is today

[-]

Sea_Machine4580@reddit

The amount of entertainment on offer on demand, for cheap is mind-boggling. Netflix alone has way more high-quality entertainment than all of the "big 3" stations put together back in the day. No appointment tv, no waiting for re-runs, no commercials. Incredible.

[-]

InterestPractical974@reddit

sports coverage/broadcasts

[-]

ApexDP@reddit

Blockbusters is never crowded anymore!

[-]

PlaxicoCN@reddit

Turn by turn navigation on your phone actually talking to you as you drive. Not having to carry a walkman and a camera with you.

[-]

muddaFUDa@reddit

weeeeeeed

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Street_Roof_7915@reddit

WiFi. Jeez. The ability to access info anywhere is amazing.

[-]

RedDawnWlvrines@reddit

Not having to mess around with a tv antenna

[-]

mattbnet@reddit

Skis and bikes are pretty awesome now. Backcountry (uphill/downhill) gear especially.

We thought that back in the day too but they are sooo much better than they were then.

[-]

NihilsitcTruth@reddit

Tech. Thats about it.

[-]

Typical_Version_7487@reddit

I prefer typing a location into my phone and it showing me the way to using Mapquest and writing down the directions.

[-]

ThisCromulentLife@reddit

Being able to order things online! And how fast anything is delivered. Even without two day delivery on Amazon, you get things so fast. Used to you’d have to order from a catalog or on the phone and it would take 6 to 8 weeks.

[-]

rab-byte@reddit

Children and encourages to talk about their feelings and resolve issues with words.

Child literacy and poverty has improved significantly vs 80’s.

Domestic violence isn’t a taboo issue and there isn’t a presumption in most of society that women and children are a man’s property. So that’s a big deal.

Our water and air is cleaner on average; now vs them.

Video games are better now. Or have the potential to be.

But we’ve lost a lot too. Less in person interaction. Loss of living wages. Loss of reciprocal respect and loyalty between employees and employers.

[-]

TheRealzHalstead@reddit

Television.

Pretty much everything about it. From variety to price to quality to access, everything about the ecosystem is better. We can argue about streaming vs. physical media (I prefer the tradeoffs of physical media) but it's hard to argue that 3 highly censored broadcast channels or 20 low budget cable channels of scratchy standard-definition TV that you watch on a 60lb 32" CRT that needed a magnet powerful enough to give off an EMP blast was better.

[-]

Hardjaw@reddit

I love being able to binge watch, even though companies seem to stop dropping all episodes. I love watching movies from home. Computers are way better today. But the common sense is horrible now, it was better back in the 80s

[-]

KeyIntelligent3341@reddit

Streaming

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snuff74@reddit

So many things. To not admit that is to tread in Boomer territory.

[-]

caravan_for_me_ma@reddit

So much really. Vaccines for chicken pox and shingles. Means no ‘pox parties’. HIV nearly done due to meds. Better safety in cars and quality of cars. Absurd amounts of video and music options. Available sports for kids to participate in. Haven’t had an actual gas crunch.

[-]

Necessary_Giraffe_66@reddit

Coolers. I love having my Otterbox and Yetis camping and not having to get ice all the time. Especially since the store to get more is 45 minutes away ONE way. On our trips this would have to be done multiple times a trip too.

[-]

lady_tatterdemalion@reddit

It's only as good as we make it. If you think today is shit then get off your ass and change it. No excuses.

[-]

lolFortris@reddit

Brussel sprouts.

[-]

unclejoe1917@reddit

Cell phones are actually a huge improvement over landlines. Next time your car takes a crap three miles from an exit, try and tell me otherwise. This leads me to my second answer. Cars. Cars are so much more reliable and comfortable than they used to be. Remember when that one friend who had a decent cassette deck in their car was riding around like they were a Rockefeller or something? And forget air conditioning. No tune ups every 8-10k miles. Barely any rust anymore. The interiors are much higher quality. I'm currently rolling around in a 165k mile car that still looks and runs like new. TV shows and movies are generally much better written these days too. Some of those 80s sit coms and dramas were pretty damn simple compared to today.

[-]

Pleasant_Garlic8088@reddit

Beer. You can still buy cheap swill if you want it but there are so many better options now.

[-]

edasto42@reddit

The accessibility of knowledge, media and communication that we have in our pockets. The fact that I can listen to almost any song I can think of, and tons that I can’t think of, at the push of a button is amazing. The fact that I can fact check stuff in seconds that I feel is bullshit is immeasurable. And I can now keep and maintain actual relationships with people across the globe with ease is mind blowing.

[-]

The-thingmaker2001@reddit

Born in '58... I am a big fan of SF, fantasy and horror. I read a lot and I love movies and my favorite music is mostly movie scores... There are vast resources of older text material digitized. I can easily read huge numbers of books I might not have been able to get even via inter-library loan (E.G. complete works of Clark Ashton Smith). I have a huge number of movies and TV shows on hand and there are more recordings of film scores, old and new, than ever before. I can read anywhere. I can watch whatever I want, whenever I want, and I have half a Tb of music I love in my pocket.

[-]

dodadoler@reddit

Internet porn

[-]

Mookiller@reddit

Not having to leave the house for pretty much anything. I have co-workers who work from home, and I don't think they ever go outside. Get everything delivered and just stay inside.

[-]

PhotographsWithFilm@reddit

Sex.

Oh, you are talking in general?

Nothing really. Welcome to the Enshitification of everything

[-]

jfburke619@reddit

Enshitification is real… but it is still the best time ever to be a human being!

[-]

baudmiksen@reddit

Every day I don't have a kidney stone is the best day ever

[-]

OE2KB@reddit

Not having to go to the backroom of the video store to see the pron. I always felt this little bit of shame, especially if a cute girl was manning the checkout counter.

[-]

These-Educator-1959@reddit

As much as we like to complain about entertainment “they don’t make shows like they used to” the fact is, no matter what time it is, I can, within seconds begin watching something new, something live, some random sport, something in a foreign language (with captions), I can stop it and pick back up. I can watch shows from my childhood or new shows. I can rewatch a favorite or choose to watch something I’ve heard about. I can start a new series or rewatch an entire series and if I want to pay for it I can start a course like Great Courses on Amazon watch college lectures on hundreds of topics.

[-]

Tabitheriel@reddit

Medical technology. You can see your muscles or insides as they are scanned. Cancer detection can happen in the early stages, and you can survive. Also, medicine for diabetics and people with thyroid disease is better.

Computers, cell phones and televisions are better. Communication with people overseas is much easier. Zoom enables visiting meetings, conferences and courses virtually.

Auto emissions and air quality have improved a lot, as well. I visited London in the 90s and the air was horrible and smoggy. Last year's visit was a surprise: Buses are emission-free, and there is less traffic. Almost all large cities have changed, adding pedestrian areas, using cleaner public transit, etc.

[-]

raspberrybee@reddit

Traveling is so much easier with electronic boarding passes and the ability to book flights online.

[-]

-Acta-Non-Verba-@reddit

And Google maps. It will help you navigate from anywhere to anywhere anywhere in the world, by walking, driving, or taking public transportation. I used it to get around London, Spain, France, and Germany. It’s a lifesaver!

[-]

raspberrybee@reddit

Google/Apple maps were such a huge help on my recent trip abroad. We used them every day to navigate and it was a huge help with public transport. We were even saying how difficult it would have been before maps apps.

[-]

mahjimoh@reddit

If you have a reason to travel like that again, check out Rome2Rio. It is an amazing resource for connecting up the options for getting from point A to point B.

I love Google maps, but this is a whole different level, like it will show you all at once all the idea - option to take the train partway, then bus, then metro (with approximate costs and durations), for instance, and links to buy the tickets! Like, here I looked for options from Amsterdam to Brussels. When I choose the first option it gives me more details, and then when I click on the first leg of that journey it gives me the details about the subway. You can also do it from a specific address to another specific address.

[-]

Deca_Durable@reddit

True, but the airplane experience is so much less enjoyable in some ways. Obviously not entertainment-wise what with in-flight and all the personal electronics, but I remember getting a full meal on short, 2 hour regional flights.

Not to mention security lineups nowadays.

[-]

cid73@reddit

Diabetes treatment. My dad passed away from poor management and I’m in peak physical form at nearly 50.

[-]

cid73@reddit

No nights and weekend minutes for cell plans

[-]

krossPlains@reddit

Second hand smoke. Seems like there used to be people smoking everywhere you’d go.

[-]

Section1245Jaws@reddit

Reliability of cars - I think cars today are generally more reliable than in the past - at least under 100k miles

[-]

largos7289@reddit

Well tech obviously. However i really miss the blockbusters. There was just something cool or neat about going there before everyone else on a Friday. Grabbing the new movie you knew was coming out, while picking up microwave popcorn. Streaming while better, is just not as social.

[-]

Bonecrusher1973@reddit

Videogames.

[-]

gramersvelt001100@reddit

Every time my friends and relatives say "Well, we just don't know." I can take out my phone and ask if we do know and what do you know? There is an answer.

[-]

No_Goose_7390@reddit

Hair and skin care, cosmetics. We were really over there using St. Ives Apricot Facial Scrub, Noxema, and Sea Breeze, just the worst.

[-]

bionicbhangra@reddit

Surgery in the 70s and 80s is almost archaic to what they do now.

From the size of the incision, to the technique etc involved.

My brother in law just had a valve replacement. I just had a complete mencius repair. The techniques for those surgeries didn't exist in the 80s. Honestly my surgery was almost painless a the incisions were tiny.

[-]

Inside-Welder4168@reddit

The Internet 😂

[-]

nocturneOG@reddit

Everything. I’m 53 and literally everything is better. Including Brussel sprouts. Someone figured out how to breed the sulphur out of them and now they are delicious (not joking)

[-]

attaboy_stampy@reddit

Communications of all sorts - I know this allows a lot of nutballs to find each other, and doom scrolling and phone use is something we haven't really figured out how to maintain properly, but the net gain is far superior. The world has shrunk incredibly since I was a kid, even since I was in college. We can talk to anyone in the world - literally - using a phone smaller than a pop tart. And it's stupid cheaper than it once was. Even face to face. I can stream a person waiting in line in the capital of Nigeria, or I can watch someone in Japan rummaging through an electronic shop. We can watch entertainment from around the world. We can instantly email anywhere in the world. You can easily do business in a way that wasn't feasible 40 years ago. When I was growing up, you had a car problem on the road? Gotta hope you can find a payphone and hope the phone book is still intact if you can't reach someone you know. Long distance calls were almost a planned out affair, if you could even manage it.

Computers and associated productivity.

Medical advances sometimes don't seem real given how prices get higher pretty quick, but there are all kinds of procedures and treatments that we do now so much better than we did back then.

[-]

KittyTaurus@reddit

Skin and hair care products are much improved — you can color your hair without frying it, and products are much more natural, less chemical. Makeup is much more inclusive of different skin tones and types (thanks Rihanna!)

[-]

Aggravating_Total921@reddit

Unlimited access to music

[-]

Still_a_skeptic@reddit

Access to media. I grew up in a strict religious household so the radio was most of the music I got where as yesterday I read an article about the Sonics and their influence on American punk and I was able to do a deep dive into their music while reading about it. I have my physical media, but streaming is just so awesome.

[-]

JoeBloggs719@reddit

It's been mentioned briefly, but online banking, and auto payments. I recall taking most of a Saturday morning once or twice a month. paying bills by check, and balancing checkbooks by hand ( but at least we had calculators ). Mailing them in time, ahead of the due dates was another wrinkle.

or ATMs. Getting cash from a teller, was another Saturday morning chore, assuming your bank had Saturday morning hours.

Runner up: stores with bar-code scanners, They could carry far more items as a result.

[-]

Firm_Accountant2219@reddit

Online financial access. Bests going to the bank, writing checks, balancing checkbooks, etc.

[-]

ElGrandeRojo67@reddit

2 things have gotten better and cheaper since our youth. Drugs and consumer electronics. At my age, neither really interest me.

[-]

therelybare5@reddit

I guess, for a parent, which I am not, that it would be the ability to locate your kids. We had no electronics when we grew up. We had a mom that had a loud voice calling us to come home! 😂 But sometimes I would ride my bike all over creation and my parents would never know whee I was. In fact, if I got hurt, they’d never know.

[-]

Barlight24@reddit

Generic groceries and instant coffee

[-]

GalacticDoc@reddit

Internet, information, communication, streaming music and TV/ film.

TVs are so much better, thinner and lighter.

Motorcycles, a lot less hassle these days and less tinkering.

Health and medicine.

[-]

addctd2badideas@reddit

Instead of experiencing the "paradox of choice" at the video store, I can experience the same anxiety in the comfort of my own home.

[-]

addctd2badideas@reddit

HIV is mostly gone at this point in the developed world, or treatable to the point where it won't kill you.

[-]

1IsNeverEnough4Me@reddit

Plastics have come a long way. Plastics were terrible back in the day.

[-]

Unit-235@reddit

Television. There’s more than 3 channels.

[-]

OolongGeer@reddit

Most things.

Special bulletin: back then totally blew.

[-]

Rikers-Mailbox@reddit

Definitely not rock music. 🙄

[-]

Hot-Measurement-8842@reddit

Gaming tips! Back then you had to subscribe to a magazine, or call some predatory 1-900 number to get past a (overly) difficult game.

[-]

Johnny_Jaga@reddit

Weed.

[-]

gramma_moses88@reddit

Not having to wait 6-8 weeks for the delivery of ordered goods. I still don't understand why it took so long for mail order. Did they send it via Sherpa?

[-]

drinkslinger1974@reddit

Although I like the instant streaming option, but there was something about going to the video store on a Saturday afternoon and just wandering around for an hour picking just the right movie.

[-]

Positron14@reddit

Coffee. Maybe not the prices at coffee shops, but I think coffee in general taste-wise has improved since the 70s and 80s. At least in my experience.

[-]

pour_me_a_double_@reddit

I can access any music I want, anytime, almost anywhere I go. I like that shit

[-]

Dull-Geologist-8204@reddit

I do love Google maps but I have discovered an sse for younger people.

I remember once when I was younger her I wanted to walk to a friend's house but I had only been there once before. Wasn't 100% sure where it was but I was confident enough in myself to just start walking there and while I did have to back track once or twice I found it.

Awhile back I told my oldest he could go to the big park by my mom's house that was just down the street. I came up and my stepdad told me he went to the small park you can see from my parents house. I walked over there and asked him why he didn't go to the big oak and he said it was because he didn't know where it was and was nervous he would get lost. Honestly if you walk to the nd of the street you can see the path that leads to the park and he had been there a bunch of times before. I told him I would walk with him but was going to make him find it. He found it just fine. The only thing holding him back was his own fears.

The other issue I have seen is how reliant they are on GPS to a fault. GPS isn't always right. At my old house GPS would tell people my driveway was the next road over so oeople would get lost in my driveway. Couple that with the fact a lot of people don't know how to turn around in a rural drveway even after we put markers and signs up to help people they still managed to et stuck in my yard. The funniest time was the time the 2 guys ended up halfway down the path in the woods trying to get out. The one that pissed me.off the most though was the guy I straight up told because of how big his truck was to turn around on my front lawn. I even pointed to the area I knew was really muddy and said don't back up there or you will get stuck. So what does he do? Backs up exactly where I told him not to then got stuck. He gets out looking all shocked and upset. I am cussing up a storm and finally went why did you do that when I specifically told you not to. He goes because I didn't want to mess up your lawn. Now normally I would help people get out but I was so pissed off I went and grabbed the shovel and boards and basically through them at him and told him how to dig his truck out and went and sat down on the porch. He was really lucky my best friend came home who started helping him then the neighbor noticed and brought her his tractor to pull him out because I was not going to help him.

The thing I had noticed was this only ever happened with young people. Older people never got lost in my driveway or stuck. One day I was on Facebook and someone had made a post about stupid things older people do. So a bunch of younger people were talking about how older people giving tem directions are dumband that's what GPS is for and they don't need directions. I was laughing and goes well that explains a lot. Then us old people got to talking about all the places where GPS gets it wrong in our area. I knew my neighbors knew about the issue so I realized that the problem was they weren't listening when my neighbors explained the problem to them so it was their fault they were getting stuck in my driveway. I have a bad back and don't need to mess it up more to help someone out of a situation they could have easily avoided if they had listened to those dumb annoying old people. I stopped helping them completely after that. Tey could pay a tow truck to come get them out or they could dig themselves out but they could deal with the consequences of their own actions.

[-]

jonny_mal@reddit

Legal weed.

Not being silly here, but as a person on the spectrum who smokes to regulate quite a lot of things being able to just pop in to a shop and get what I need is a huge deal. No more calling some guy and just trusting what they have. No more worrying about getting caught with it.

[-]

lacontrolfreak@reddit

Women are allowed to have credit cards. Seriously,

[-]

scumbagstaceysEx@reddit

The Air (at least in the USA). Not as much pollutants in the outside air and no more indoor smoking.

[-]

lovable_asshole@reddit

I do like being able to listen to any song, anywhere at anytime

[-]

ObviouslyFunded@reddit

Food options for people with allergies or similar diseases like Celiac. Both in supermarkets and eating out. US labeling laws have a long way to go but they are much better than what we had then (nothing LOL). You need to be vigilant but you can at least go to some restaurants and feel fairly safe.

[-]

OperaBunny@reddit

I do not miss rewinding VHS or audio tapes.

[-]

thisgirlnamedbree@reddit

As a fat woman, clothing options. I have the availability to buy stylish and cute things that aren't mumus, tent dresses, sweatpants, and shapeless tops with hideous patterns.

[-]

NCSubie@reddit

In all honesty, nearly everything aside from our mental health.

[-]

BonCourageAmis@reddit

Scissors

[-]

Adventurous_Art_1123@reddit

The speed of the Internet…

[-]

VicVelvet@reddit

Online bill pay

[-]

Resident_Character35@reddit

The odds of human extinction within decades.

[-]

Sorry_Philosopher_43@reddit

Cooking options. I really appreciate the access to a world of different cuisines, recipes, ingredients to experiment with and try. Growing up, food was pretty basic and limited in scope. Now if I want to try to make scandinavian rusks, I can find the recipes, history, ingredients and probably 10 videos of the process in a few moments.

[-]

cnation01@reddit

Smartphones changed society.

Google maps ! What an amazing thing to have at our disposal.

Much better than pulling over to go through a folding map lmao.

[-]

Human_Suggestion7373@reddit

Choices for vegetarians

[-]

BabadookOfEarl@reddit

I can learn another language for free while taking a dump.

[-]

missdawn1970@reddit

GPS. I used to be a nervous wreck whenever I had to drive to an unfamiliar place.

[-]

Sufficient_Stop8381@reddit

Instant nudity on my phone.

[-]

MetalTrek1@reddit

Purchasing music. No more buying an album for one song hoping the rest of it is good. Now you can check it out on line and purchase it right there if you like it. And if you only like one or two songs, you can just listen to or purchase just those one or two songs. I DO miss actual record stores, but overall, checking out and buying the music is much better these days (and yes, I use Spotify to listen to stuff I have already purchased AND check out new stuff to purchase).

[-]

rduddleson@reddit

While it’s tempting to “old man yells at clouds”, the real answer is almost everything.

Someone might prefer things from childhood in matters of taste, like music, or television, but in general basically everything is better than it was in 1980.

[-]

tangoezulu@reddit

Washing machines, Automobiles, clothes,

[-]

Final_Requirement561@reddit

Not much...at lease from my POV

[-]

rattfink11@reddit

Sexuality and gender tolerance. It’s better, not ideal, but at least better.

[-]

AcadiaRemarkable6992@reddit

Buying concert tickets. I used to have to go to a record or toy store’s Ticketmaster outlet. Now I can buy them on the toilet

[-]

UpOrDownItsUpToYou@reddit

Legal protections for LGBTQ. Gender income gap. Protections against sexual harassment. Greater cultural and ethnic diversity. Consumer protection. Reduced tobacco use. Earned income tax credit. Seatbelt use and auto safety. Medical science. More science, less religion. Stronger protections against domestic abuse. Cold war is over, nuclear weapons have reduced. Worldwide literacy has increased, while worldwide violence has decreased.

I could go on but I'm finished shitting.

[-]

aethelberga@reddit

Access to information. Whether it's what's to best way to propagate basil or the year that Westminster Abbey was founded or who-was-the-guy-in-that-movie-with-the-car-and-the-chick-with-the-big-hair or the actual meaning of skibidi toilet, it's all in the palm of your hand. You never have to go more than a minute or two without knowing something. EVER!!

[-]

TheJunkFarm@reddit

cell phones and computers are WAY better.

[-]

sunfish99@reddit

Did you ever try to text on one of those Nokia candy bar phones? Absolutely painful. Modern phones with (albeit tiny) keyboards are so much better.

Also, having the power of the internet in your hands wherever you are. Some 15 years ago I was about to head out on vacation to Bryce and Zion National Parks when severe thunderstorms blew through an completely messed up the flight schedules. I was rebooked on a later plane, and was now going to arrive at the airport in Las Vegas some 8 hours late... way too late to drive on to my first night's stay near Bryce like I'd planned. With my iPhone 3G I was able to stand in the terminal at LGA and call my hotel to tell them that I would be arriving a day late, and then surf Expedia to find a hotel and pay for that night's stay in Vegas. So much better getting all that sorted out at 2pm rather than trying to figure it out on the ground after 8 pm.

[-]

Vivid_Meal992@reddit

Idk I think they are isolating in a lot of ways too…they’re great but also not great.

[-]

TheJunkFarm@reddit

Yeah, but I like not paying per text message lol

[-]

WizardMastery@reddit

I kind of miss the dial up modem sound lol. Even though it was slow that it would take an hour to download one picture lol.

[-]

Funkgun@reddit

I enjoyed being able to put together a system, use physical media to bring it to life. But did not like unexpected errors and crashes.

[-]

czw1000@reddit

Being able to know instantly what the weather will be for the next hour right where you’re standing.

[-]

Trees_are_cool_@reddit

Weed availability. And cars. The 80's were a bad time for cars, and into the 90's.

[-]

Ok_Habit6837@reddit

Streaming music instead of hideous racks and storage cases for cassettes and CDs.

[-]

sillvrdollr@reddit

There are a lot of improvements. Far less acceptance of sexual abuse is a big one. Remember 80s movies with date rape plots? 16 Candles, a guy actually brags about having a passed out girl upstairs that he could do anything with, and he literally gives her away to another guy.

It’s less dangerous to be LGPTQ these days. In the 80s, Boston clubs on “gay night” (like the 8 on Lansdowne Street) had complicated dress codes to keep out guys who’d get shocked and beat people up (no sports logos, no deck shoes, no izods, no Kelly green, etc)

[-]

JihoonMadeMeDoIt@reddit

Using an iPad and air turn pedal to read music. Life changer.

[-]

Financial-Deal-7786@reddit

The video shop was as close as I ever got to Disneyland as a kid

[-]

Zestyclose_Stage_673@reddit

Not having roaming charges on cell phones.

[-]

Fritzo2162@reddit

No hourly Internet charges.

AOL and their $9.95/hr fees back in the day made me broke.

[-]

SailboatSteve@reddit

Basically everything that involves a computer. When I was 12, I got a Commodore 64 and thought I had reached the pinnacle of technology. Now, I can ask my computer to adjust my home thermostat while driving home from work. We've come a long way.

[-]

chillaxtion@reddit

Cars. Cars were absolutely shit back then.

[-]

redditdoesnotcareany@reddit

Ease of connectivity, with the side effect being a drop in human interaction

[-]

FreakyWifeFreakyLife@reddit

Dude seriously? How tf did we ever find anything? Look up the address in a book, possibly consult a map you couldn't get folded back right, drive down the street and look for the one business every 3 blocks that had a visible address while in traffic.

How did we get any answers? Ask someone who pretended they knew, or drive to the library.

We watched tiny blurry screens laden with ads, often while paying to not have ads. And if it broke you needed help to get it to the curb.

The lawnmower weighed a ton and none of this self drive business. It also covered you in toxic fumes.

Don't even get me started on the video games. Sure, arcades were cool. But a bunch of those games were absolutely designed to steal your money.

The music industry had a stranglehold on what we listened to, and we had to listen to it through a ton of head noise or static. I know. tmThe music you listened to was awesome. Except for the absolute crap you're forgetting about. Yes, in that genre too. But how did you get to that band you actually liked? How do you really think it ended up on the radio?

Were there things that were better then? Absolutely. But let's not wear blinders here. There were a ton of things that sucked.

[-]

bookon@reddit

Every thing is better. More expensive but better.

[-]

pancakeonions@reddit

lol. Pretty much everything? Parents now (in my community) are so much more involved with their kids than I was. The Cold War is over. I remember literally thinking why bother doing anything cuz nuclear war... extreme poverty is (way) down globally, while we might be in a bit of an uptick at the moment there are fewer wars and deaths from violence ever (like, across all of human history actually!)

If you step outside the gloom and doom media cycle, we live in a pretty amazing time right now.

Until Skynet goes online. Of course.

[-]

Abject-Kitchen3198@reddit

Yes. Trying to think about things that were actually better rather than nostalgia. Most of it is specific to some environment and can be much better elsewhere. And we have a choice to avoid most things that we consider worse.

[-]

s1l1c0n3@reddit

Vegetarian food options. When I stopped eating meat in HS there wasn't much I could get to eat in the backwards Ohio town I grew up in up in. That same redneck town has an Indian restaurant now. I would have KILLED for food that good back then!

[-]

Inevitable_Phase_276@reddit

Hair products, for the hair you have and fake hair options

[-]

the_47th_painter@reddit

How about just overall safety?

Seat belt laws instead of mom or dad's right arm when stopping suddenly. Or the fact you're strapped in when you riding in the back seats of cars.

The existence of things like quality bike helmets.

Don't get me wrong... I miss the indestructible days of my youth and just rubbing some dirt on it when you got hurt, but overall I think safety standards are far better than what they were 30, 40, or 50 years ago.

[-]

sixlivesleft@reddit

Public libraries. Ordering books to be transferred in from other libraries and free access to their apps like Kanopy and Libby.

[-]

AbFabFan@reddit

Digital cameras! Makes photography as a hobby more accessible.

Computers.

The ability to watch/stream TV shows and movies at home on quality TVs with good sound and screen.

Phones.

Cars: safer and more reliable.

Travel: cheaper flights, making travel more accessible to everyone.

Food: just the variety of food from different cultures available everywhere.

[-]

sandsonik@reddit

Cars last longer, gay people have rights and are treated better, and tvs are lighter, thinner, with bigger screens and don't break. I remember when TV repairmen were thing and when I paid $450 for my first vcr.

You have all the music of The world at your fingertips for what you paid for one album ' and oddly this causes us to value it less.

Computers are light years better and my phone is a more powerful computer than generation's od desktops.

Some may argue this one but television is better. In the days when there were only 3 networks there was still a lot of really bad sitcoms. There was nothing approaching Breaking Bad,Saul or Severance.

[-]

Synensys@reddit

Who would argue that television was better 40 years ago. Maybe you could argue that peak network sitcoms were better (altouhh the still churned out their share of drivel) but overall its not even close.

Like hou could get the network tv experience we were all forced to live as kids and save yourself a ton of money. But almost no one does because even with the escalating costs and the ads, streaming is radically better than even network + cable we had as kids.

[-]

sandsonik@reddit

I agree - except for "reality tv", which I wish would breathe its last already!

[-]

epicenter69@reddit

“Reality TV” is as far from reality as possible. How it got branded that way is beyond me.

[-]

Deca_Durable@reddit

There were a few shows with that level of today’s Peak TV excellence, pretty much starting with Twin Peaks. But I agree it’s so much better now.

[-]

D2Dragons@reddit

I’m still absolutely amazed at the fact that I can carry on a conversation, in real-time, with clear audio and video, with four people in completely different sections of the world; all while playing a game together. It’s something younger me would have never even dreamed of, the stuff of science fiction, and costs less than an international phone call when I was a kid.

[-]

HikeThePines@reddit

Walking boots for broken bones.

[-]

zaxo666@reddit

Having GPS

[-]

Automatic-Fox-8890@reddit

Working remotely at home. A lifesaver. So comfy, no commuting, eat at home, save money, tidy and putter around the house — and yet be way more productive and effective.

[-]

MikeWolters@reddit

Orange Juice!

[-]

missylovesmanic@reddit

TV episodes on demand. No more waiting for Summer reruns.

[-]

BenGrahamButler@reddit

4k TVs and yoga pants, both can be visually stunning

[-]

C-levelgeek@reddit

Most everything is better — tech brings efficiency and progress when used correctly.

[-]

phunkyunkle@reddit

Hip replacement. 45-minute surgery, on your feet in 24 hours.

[-]

freemindjames@reddit

I can press a button, and a burrito shows up at my door.

[-]

sjbluebirds@reddit

Cheese. Lettuce. Coffee.

We're no longer limited to Kraft slices, mild cheddar, and swiss; iceberg; and cans of pre-ground Folgers.

[-]

Mobile-Boss-8566@reddit

Television technology

[-]

praetorian1979@reddit

Graphics and internet speed.

[-]

Erazzphoto@reddit

Damn near everything, our nostalgia is wishing we were young again and out memories, not be the products were better haha. Although there is a point about the quality of things going down because of cost cutting in a mass production world. So I guess now that I think about it, maybe a lot of things haha.

[-]

raymondspogo@reddit

Frozen dinners

[-]

FacePunchMonday@reddit

Almost everything is better today than it was 30 or 40 years ago. Dont lie to yourself, you arent your tightwad anal retentive boomer shitbag parents.

Look in the mirror. Did you grow up to be john lithgow or did you remain kevin bacon? If the answer is the former, you are worse today then you were growing up.

You know whats not better?

Chicken breast. We fucked that up.

[-]

MichaSound@reddit

People (mostly) not letting their dogs shit everywhere. I have vivid memories from childhood of having to constantly dodge around white shit on the pavement.

It’s got worse again since Covid, with so many inexperienced dog owners - if I see the next person leaving their dog shit on the path, I’m going to make them eat it.

[-]

FakeAorta@reddit

Tolerance of other hunans. Still a long way to go. But since the 1980s when I was a teen, The LGBTQ community and people of colour are acceptedna lot more these days.

[-]

punkarama@reddit

Maps

[-]

Which_Preference_883@reddit

Better coffee

[-]

TheWuziMu1@reddit

Information accessibility

[-]

Ctheret@reddit

Just about everything except the cost of it all.

[-]

Canadian_shack@reddit

Kindles. They really are the answer to a childhood dream. Every book I could want, instantly on my device. Easy borrowing from the library to the kindle- don’t even have to buy books or pay for internet access. I would never have believed it.

[-]

wiltznucs@reddit

Travel.

I remember having to call an airline and trying to book flights by phone. Worse yet; having to physically go to the local airport and book a flight on-site. No real way to compare flight costs; just go with what they give you. The physical paper tickets were often mailed to you.

Inadvertently misplace your paper ticket? Better have a few hours to spare the day of the flight.

Flight changes? Didn’t find out until you arrived to the airport.

Things are much better now.

[-]

zaskar@reddit

I’ve always just called amx

[-]

GotMedieval@reddit

You done used the wrong picture. Browsing the aisles of Blockbuster was far superior to scrolling through the Netflix menu.

[-]

National-Pay-2561@reddit

Parents. A lot of them actually seem to give a shit about their kids.

[-]

afschmidt@reddit

Streaming movies/videos on demand. It's hilarious to listen to people bitch about the price of a streaming service. For what you pay in a month, you could rent only a few movies.

[-]

Synensys@reddit

Im inflation adjusted terms im not even sure you could get a new movie for what Netflix costs a month.

[-]

Injustry@reddit

Not having to wait in line all night for a video game.

[-]

GarionOrb@reddit

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I absolutely love digital distribution in games. It's ridiculously convenient, I get the games I'm excited for the day before release at 9:00 pm, and I don't have to worry about them selling out. I remember back in the NES days how impossible it was to get games like Zelda II, Super Mario Bros. 3, or Mega Man II! Weeks of calling multiple stores.

[-]

Synensys@reddit

I think what this post is really showing is that mostly what's worse is peoples attitudes.

[-]

Frans_Stokbrood@reddit

Navigatiesystems… always sitting in the backseat watching the adults argue while one was driving and the other tried to figure out the best route with an oversized map…

[-]

MienaLovesCats@reddit

📱 Cellphones, digital cameras, and cell phones with 📷 As an amateur photographer; I would have loved these as a kid/ teen. Thankfully my mom worked as a photo finisher and studio photographer. So she got free 📷 developing and half price 📷 film. Helping me to win a few awards in jr high and high school

[-]

Synensys@reddit

Well you showed it right there in the picture. We romanticize the video store experience but streaming is so much better.

Tvs. Phones. Computers. Video games. Cars. Houses (altough ovviously more expensive). Medicine. Food. Clothes are cheaper. Traveling is cheaper.

Also not having people smoking in every room.

[-]

Mindes13@reddit

Unlimited calls and texts. No more waiting until the weekend or after 9pm or whatever the time was

[-]

tigers692@reddit

Motorcycles. I used to ride a ‘43 Indian. Now I ride a 2017 Indian. That ‘43 didn’t have much in the way of suspension, it didn’t go very quickly, and would over heat in the summer desert. I couldn’t ride it today, I’m old and mostly broken. But my 2017 has an amazing suspension, maybe the best I’ve ridden. It can haul serious ass, although my wife rides with me and has a strong belief in something called the “speed limit”. I’ve not had her over heat yet, and I ride in the Mojave desert during July. (I thought it would be a great idea to go to Death Valley a few years ago, I think 2020, when it was over 130 because we have only ever been in 120…but the wife vetoed the idea)

[-]

Senior-Cantaloupe-69@reddit

Almost everything is better now. Hands down. People just have nostalgia.

[-]

Aggravating_Peach_94@reddit

Being gay Depression care Being a woman at work Stretch denim The price of glasses Prenatal care Bullying Maternity clothes Crime rates Abduction rates Ability to report abuse Food options Acceptance of divorce Car safety Availability of good research about history Understanding of the universe Goes on and on. We weren't raised in any utopia.

[-]

NoTomorrowNo@reddit

This thread is turning into a "convenience versus quality" discussion lol.

[-]

Grandfeatherix@reddit

i can't think of anything in the last 20-30 years that's better, and i'm not even trying to fight for a positive change anymore, i'd rather be dead soon and leave people to the fucking mess they are making for themselves

[-]

TinCanSailor987@reddit

Music availability. Hearing a song on the radio and waiting months, maybe years, to find the true name of it.

[-]

Legitimate_Panda5142@reddit

Availability of programming. I dont have to wait for a particular movie or TV episode to come on. I can watch it when I want to.

[-]

zyglack@reddit

I haven’t bought a CD in 20 years. Telling Siri or Alexa what song or album I want to hear is fantastic.

[-]

fezmid@reddit

See, I think that is a negative. We've lost the appreciation of the artwork, the liberty notes, and savoring an album versus just a song.

[-]

NoTomorrowNo@reddit

Yeah, I still buy CDs to support the Art and the artist.

[-]

aogamerdude@reddit

Some of us will just organize a playlist even if it is the same band/artist, through their albums.

[-]

GarionOrb@reddit

Music distribution is definitely more convenient, but it's not an ideal situation for the artists. Smaller artists are having an even harder time breaking through and unless you're up there with Taylor Swift or The Weeknd, they make no money for their music. In fact, music in general has been gravely devalued. Very few new releases are an event nowadays.

[-]

coentertainer@reddit

Life for minorities.

[-]

SuperLowBudge@reddit

I love Shazam—I can always know what song is playing!

I love Google Maps (before that Mapquest, though you still had to print it out). I have always been TERRIBLE at directions! I used to say that I’m lost as soon as you turn me around once. GPS makes me feel like I have gained a superpower.

[-]

GarionOrb@reddit

My phone has a feature where the moment it hears music it just tells me what it is. I love it!

[-]

BreakerBoy6@reddit

Wow, what app is that?

[-]

GarionOrb@reddit

I'm not sure what it's called. It's a feature on the Google Pixel phones and it's in the general settings somewhere. My brother told me about it and where to find it, but that was a while ago, lol.

[-]

grimbil@reddit

Ice cream cones. They never drip from the bottom tip now, but it was always a problem when I was a kid. Great to see cone manufacturing quality control has stepped up in the last 45 years!

[-]

Moodleboy@reddit

Pretty much everything except for people.

[-]

Unsteady_Tempo@reddit

That's what you're going to get when "everything " is largely defined as "things that customize to our immediate wants and needs."

[-]

NoTomorrowNo@reddit

And people point you to chatGPT when you re looking for emotional support.

This instant universal availability of anything is isolating us from each other. Feels more and more dystopian.

[-]

CosmicCrisp11@reddit

Assistive technologies. Screen readers, hearing aids, speech-to-text, better understanding of neurodivergent learning modalities.

[-]

Deca_Durable@reddit

I think augmented reality glasses/wearables are going to make a big difference for assistive/accessibility tech.

[-]

Capnhuh@reddit

Maybe medical technology, and environmental repair because acidvrain isn't a thing no more.

[-]

Eureka05@reddit

Tech sure.

But food options and cuisine awareness.

The most exotic thing I ate at a kid was a typical Chinese buffet. And schnitzel

My kids have had Chinese, Japanese, Indian food. Korean, Mexican. And we've tried all sorts of ingredients and cooking methods including sous vide and smoking. Only thing my dad barbecued is a burger patty

[-]

chefybpoodling@reddit

Access to interesting ingredients from other parts of the world. In 1975 my mom couldn’t even spell guacamole nonetheless make tacos. And they were members of a gourmet club where they would host or attend dinner parties based on a different country. I remember them making chicken Kiev but salsa was foreign and spicy. I think it was a lot of France, Italy Germany aka crepes, spaghetti and bratwurst. I can’t imagine if she had to locate something like saffron or tamarind pods back then.

[-]

Little-Efficiency336@reddit

Cell phones. They don’t weigh 50 pounds and last longer than 30 minutes.

[-]

BigLoudWorld74@reddit

Some things are better like having all of the knowledge of the world at your fingertips. Other than that everything is worse because people don't interact anymore. It's a damn shame.

[-]

ZoneWombat99@reddit

This one is kind of trivial I guess, but also not. Makeup and hair products(techniques and clothing for people who are not white with straight hair. I'm white, but I have curly hair and there were no products for it when we were growing up. Mousse was a revelation when it was invented, but I still couldn't find anybody to cut my hair properly. I also lived in an area where whites were not a majority, and none of my friends could find makeup that matched their skin tone.

[-]

Komaisnotsalty@reddit

Having GPS on my phone instead of printing stuff out on Map Quest and taping/stapling/highlighting everything together.

[-]

ZoneWombat99@reddit

Crime is way way down. All types of crime from murder to mugging. Well, I believe that policing is worse in the sense of cops now cosplaying as military rather than being members of the community, multiple factors have reduced crime.

[-]

Small-Palpitation310@reddit

pretty much everything

[-]

Lizabitch_@reddit

Cancer treatment

[-]

Training-Purple-5220@reddit

Video resolution for sure. Any video below 720p looks like there’s Vaseline on the screen now.

[-]

pavilionaire2022@reddit

You can get Ben & Jerry's at the grocery store.

[-]

blacklab@reddit

Food

[-]

InvisibleHurt@reddit

I really doubt this question was from a genuine GenX. Theres things that make stuff easier but doesn’t necessarily mean it is better. Maybe I’d prefer not to be reachable 24/7. Maybe I like standing up in the back of a pickup with the wind blowing in my face instead of having a camera and telling people what I did so far today. (Damn near thirty-five years since I’ve last tried that truck thing lol) or going for a walk and not having to worry about getting shot at or if my kids are gonna get shot at. Your friends are your neighbours and family that come around and making teams was as easy as counting to 10 odd vs even or people just filling spaces until full and then we rotate in, never had to practice having a school shooter. Food was better, water was cleaner, my mom was a single parent and we got a house still and cars my uncles tended to crash. It amazes me that we have all the answers to questions at our fingertips and yet we still have flat earthers or kids glorifying Nazism and those who believe Fox News is real news. It’s like are things getting too easy? I used to be able to remember plenty of seven digit phone numbers along with all my passwords and codes and licence numbers and sin numbers but ask me today a random family members number? Um 3? lol.

[-]

Tiny-Albatross518@reddit

Portable music players.

Compare your iPhone to say your Sony Walkman or discman

1000songs and everything like: everything else with data or wifi. Nothing to carry but one small device. Tiny. Never skips!!! Battery life? All damn day. Connects wirelessly to the car or the house?

If you got in your Time Machine and tried to explain this to some primitive from 1990 they wouldn’t believe a third of it.

[-]

ThePrincessDiarrhea@reddit

Videostores are a bad example as far as I’m concerned. They used to offer a weider variety than streaming services and older movies would move to different part of the store instead of disappearing altogether. You also didn’t have to pay when you didn’t actually Watch anything.

Sure, you needed to go there, but I loved that little preliminairy ritual. Browsing those shelves. Taking my time.

[-]

phinz@reddit

The Devil’s Lettuce.

[-]

ChrisPollock6@reddit

Just weed and it’s literally the same price or lower than it was in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

[-]

MaliciousTent@reddit

Targeted advertising, ads and follow me all over the internet ads. Adblockers worked. The tech was primitive back then and I miss that.

[-]

Lopsided_Tomatillo27@reddit

Weed. It’s cheaper, better quality , and legal in many places.

[-]

okazakiom@reddit

There are many truths in this thread, but one rather mundane one has been popping up in my awareness.

Camera straps - there was so much crappy pot metal on those mid-'60s to early-'80s camera straps - they'd dig into your sides or your arm and were impossible to adjust. Your camera would get scratched up from the metal clips at the end unless you had leather protectors on your strap lugs. Camera straps before them were often simple leather and soft brass, and after them came the systems we use today, but for a brief period in time everything was awful.

[-]

CompanyOther2608@reddit

Maps

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im_on_the_case@reddit

Taking out the trash. I remember dragging the big metal cans to the curb, modern wheelie bins are awesome in comparison. Pickup is much quieter and more efficient and everything is cleaner because they are less likely to topple over sending garbage everywhere.

[-]

Vivid_Meal992@reddit

As much as I hate corporate greed, being able to search for, find, purchase, and receive basically anything u want/need from Amazon and it arriving the next day is pretty amazing. Remember looking through catalogs, calling, ordering and waiting??

[-]

dumbbumtumtum@reddit

Music accessibility

[-]

polincorruption@reddit

Beer 🍻

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bucketofmonkeys@reddit

Thanks for this post, I really needed some positivity.

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Wrong_Pen6179@reddit

Working from home!

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One_Hour_Poop@reddit

The 24/7 ability to instantly find out the answer to almost any random question that pops into my head (with admittedly varying levels of reliability).

Here are 3 items from my Google search history over the past 24 hours:

"Why did pilgrim hats have a buckle on them?"
"How much does an M-16A2 weigh?"
"Pictures of Ace Frehley no makeup 1976"

[-]

GaiaGoddess26@reddit

90% of my searches the last month have been about Ace!

[-]

blacfd@reddit

Having all of the information ever discovered available instantly anytime you want it, right in your pocket.

[-]

rhionaeschna@reddit

Wage parity. My mom didn't start earning what her male counterparts did for the same job til I was in Jr. High. Her union fought for it.

[-]

Pomchimomma@reddit

Police actually take stalkers seriously now. Back then they couldn't/wouldn't do anything about it.

[-]

QuttiDeBachi@reddit

Pron…unlimited access to pron…for free

[-]

JJDiet76@reddit

Cars

[-]

TimHuntsman@reddit

Tons o shit. “Awareness?” Mental health tools and learning to re-center yourself? Digital tech and tools to go “camping” and not end up a sad story in the local Sunday news?
Ways to subvert the tek-boi internet BS and still get real information?
Yea, shit sucks. (And is expensive). But there’s still space to do your thing

[-]

Athos-1844@reddit

Cars. That blind spot camera is a godsend. It has saved me from a few accidents.

Waze. Awesome app. Saved me several tickets. I wish we had smartphones back then, Waze would have helped me not have so many speeding tickets.

[-]

BrainJar@reddit

Not having to go to the video store to pick up some porn.

[-]

trickmirrorball@reddit

Weed.

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devonchaos@reddit

I love my e-reader. I can adjust it for my eyes AND find free books from home. I was hitting the point of wanting to read books that were too heavy to hold for too long, and my eyes would get tired quickly also.

[-]

Brock_Savage@reddit

To be perfectly honest, I struggle to think of many things that were better back in the day.

[-]

ImightHaveMissed@reddit

Movie night at home on an 80” tv

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The_Medicated@reddit

I remember having to be the "remote control" on our old, huge piece of furniture TV...

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Last-Relationship166@reddit

Music...if you grew up in the 80s. Fashion...if you grew up in the 80s. Hair styles...if you grew up in the 80s. Politics sucked in the 80s, but we're currently experiencing a "hold my beer" moment.

[-]

SheSmilesWayTooMuch8@reddit

Restaurants are open later and most everything can be delivered now.

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zwiazekrowerzystow@reddit

small consumer goods are far better. guitars and bicycles are two of my hobbies and what is available nowadays is leaps and bounds better than 30 years ago.

30 years ago, you had cheap guitars that were largely crap and expensive guitars which were usually good however could still be terrible. nowadays, even inexpensive guitars can be decent quality and when you move up in price, you can get amazing instruments for under $1,000usd.

[-]

The_Medicated@reddit

AND you can get some pretty solid second hand ones at relatively affordable prices due to reseller shops or resellers online!

[-]

aogamerdude@reddit

Reddick Guitars & similar are interesting (but I don't have the time), just about anything made in this century makes most of what was made last century seem like real old days.

I have a low mileage Norco Valence roadbike that I dream of cruising on again someday, I also have a Radbike (e-bike, unlocked software governer) City Commuter 4 which I stopped using because it needs a new battery, which will not be cheap, then I have a 3 speed Kwiggle - folding bike that fits in my locker at work.

[-]

keirmeister@reddit

Computers are better. Video games. Access to information is better.

(+cough+ Um…access to porn is better too…)

[-]

DanteQuill@reddit

Reserved seating and the nicer, cushier seats at the movie theater. Waaayyy better. If only I could say the same for the movies coming out these days lol

[-]

The_Medicated@reddit

Lol! I like to think the seats got "cushier" is because the average movie goer is older and has bad backs and joints that makes it hard to sit as long as comfortably. Yay! Gen X gets the win!

[-]

sexycephalopod@reddit

I would have absolutely loved VR as a kid.

[-]

Lecture_Unhappy@reddit

Luggage

[-]

Lecture_Unhappy@reddit

Halloween costumes

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hazysummersky@reddit

The aqueducts?

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-Acta-Non-Verba-@reddit

Lightbulbs.

Growing up, we only had incandescent lightbulbs. I remember you have to be careful with the flashlights, because if you bumped them, you could break the wire inside the bulb, and that was the end of the flashlight. incandescent lightbulbs use a lot more energy, we’re a lot more delicate, and they last a lot less.

In contrast, LEDs use a fraction of the energy, are basically unbreakable, and have amazingly long lifespans. They are so efficient that instead of flashlights, we have small headlights that are our lot brighter and last a lot longer while weighing a lot less.

[-]

QuokkaNerd@reddit

Most things, other than prices of goods and services. Cars are safer and more economical, people are healthier, teen pregnancy and substance abuse are far lower, information is more accessible, communications are more global...

[-]

Leather_Network4743@reddit

It’s much more difficult for me to think of what’s objectively worse or no better, TBH. Affordability of big-ticket items might be the one thing that sticks out at me, but there are a lot of things that are more affordable that were once considered “big-ticket”, like TVs and computers.

[-]

knowingVisionary@reddit

Televisions

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toungespasm@reddit

Why did I have to scroll so far down for this? You can say whatever you want about old films, TV shows, classic video games, and going to Blockbuster. But I love 4K and 16:9 65 inch TVs. Old 4:3 VHS and S-VHS cathode ray TVs were not great and super heavy in larger sizes.

[-]

smillasense@reddit

Feeling safer in the car with smartphones. Google Maps, emergency calling, etc.

[-]

thegreatgatsB70@reddit

It's a lot easier to get fat.

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WriterGuyCan@reddit

I like googling for quick answers.

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No_Character_4443@reddit

Almost everything is better today.

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tedlyb@reddit

Not sure I’d go that far.

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PieTighter@reddit

Clothing definitely isn't. I don't remember worrying about how many times I washed my jeans, I washed them every time I wore them and they still lasted forever.

[-]

MichElegance@reddit

Right!!! I was just talking about this the other day.

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GarionOrb@reddit

Using the picture you used for this thread is a great example. It's far more convenient to rent a movie using a streaming service than it was going to a video store to find that what you want is rented out.

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Error262_USRnotfound@reddit

Cannabis procurement, I used to go to some dude’s house hangout for like 45 min, listen to a rush album smoke out , watch dude play air drums, have dude bring up clips of shows dude recorded on his vhs. Get in the car and drive home (On a good day)

Now, I just go online and some stay at home mom delivers it to my door and I move on with my life.

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it_rubs_the_lotion@reddit

I have a dispensary around the corner from me and my last residence two in either direction two blocks away. You never live far from a dispensary in my city. And blessings to pax from a mild asthmatic.

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Individual_Note_8756@reddit

Sounds like that “stay at home” mom has a job…

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Junior_Lavishness_96@reddit

She doesn’t stay at home lol

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eyehate@reddit

Having a world of information in your palm. Music on demand. Much better music these days and there is a better selection of genres. Videogames are better. Facetime is amazing - my kiddo can visit nana any time.

I think I was born in the wrong decade.

Growing up was fine but I don't miss the 80s and 90s. At all.

[-]

caryn1477@reddit

I'll take email over snail mail and faxing all day long.

[-]

in-a-microbus@reddit

Toll Booths!

Do you all remember waiting in line? Such a hassle!

[-]

pinballrocker@reddit

Phones, travel, the internet, food choices, seeing movies with reserved seating, coffee, beer (microbreweries rule), quality and availability of legal weed, mattresses, TV sets, streaming, gaming, pinball, sex and sex toys, vehicles, voice to text, cameras, headphones, the internet, computers, gender equality, our views on sexual orientation and race, our treatment of people with physical and mental problems, our treatment of diseases and cancer - the medical breakthroughs have been massive.... honestly most things are better.

[-]

gimmedaloofa@reddit

OMG i actually got kicked out of my grandmas house over long distance bills... was dating a girl in the next F'ing COUNTY! Not country, COUNTY! I had no idea at the time it would be so expensive. Kids today have no idea how good they have it with not just the phone but even the Internet

[-]

Express-Pension-7519@reddit

online bill payment

[-]

Rowan6547@reddit

TV without commercials and knowing I'll never miss my favorite show.

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LtonTomato@reddit

I’m a type 1 diabetic, and everything about management is better now. Everything. 💯

[-]

iamnotaclown@reddit

Fucking everything.

[-]

scaba23@reddit

Programming languages. Python, Go and Rust especially

[-]

Dapper_Ad6341@reddit

MP3 technology because I have my entire library on a device smaller than my phone. CD's were nice but cumbersome and I hated cassettes with a passion.
DVR's I remember having to deal with VCR's and programming them and buying the infrared channel changer for the cable box so I could record shows on more than one channel while I was out.
Using the internet to book things like flights and hotels.

[-]

thesplendor@reddit

Most things actually

[-]

mikebrown33@reddit

Automobile safety

[-]

Think-Ad-5698@reddit

Communication

[-]

ZaphodGreedalox@reddit

Calendars and reminders

[-]

Minute-Frame-8060@reddit

Communications and entertainment. Texting, streaming. The ability of single women to get mortgages and car loans and not be asked if your husband will be coming in to sign the paperwork. As a disabled person, shopping online is a godsend (though I did a lot of catalog shopping before). And to some extent, social media. At its best, you can connect people with people from all over the world with similar interests. You can use YouTube to find out how to repair a washing machine and order that part from Amazon. Instead of a cassette in a Walkman, I can bring thousands of songs from my personal music library with me in a small rectangle.

[-]

lewisfairchild@reddit

Gum.

I’m gonna go out on a limb & say the gum is better.

[-]

FishmanOne@reddit

Pretty much every aspect of medicine

[-]

KBO_Winston@reddit

Google Maps - especially how it can tell you when you're aimed the wrong direction.

[-]

Junior_Lavishness_96@reddit

Lots of things are much better, paying bills is so much easier, online banking, cell phones, no more landline with long distance. Some things are worse though. The climate is definitely worse, especially for those of us that picked career fields that spend a lot of time outdoors. Socioeconomics is much worse than I’ve ever seen it. It’s

[-]

chunkyme1001@reddit

Nothing

[-]

Rutherford-Tha-Brave@reddit

Having any music I want in the palm of my hand instantly for a low monthly fee to an internet based music service is a godsend.

[-]

cawfytawk@reddit

A lot is great by today's standards. That's not really being negated when referring to "great back then". It's referring to more of a visceral "great" like the excitement of going to the record store, finding and buying the fresh pressed record or cd you've been saving allowance or newspaper delivery money for then bringing it home and opening the protective plastic and reading reading liner notes. Or remembering peoples' phone numbers by the series of tones the dial made.

As far as we've come it's gotten worse in a lot of ways. Sure, parents don't hit their kids anymore but now these kids are clueless, unruly and unprepared for life's challenges or any kind of criticism. Bosses don't call you stupid anymore but workers have gotten lazy self-entitled and complacent. Everything is available at our fingertips but it doesn't mean the people that make it, pack it or deliver it are benefiting from any of it. Our parents lived in a time where you could buy a house with a single middle-class income. People worked those jobs into retirement. Our generation specifically is experiencing mass layoffs for no other reason than because corporations don't value loyalty or experience anymore.

[-]

zombie_spiderman@reddit

I would argue that almost everything is "better", we're just far more aware of all the stuff that has always been bad. Racism, sexism, homophobia, child abuse...from what I can tell (and I'm no sociologist) those things were much worse when we were growing up, but now it's all pretty much impossible to ignore. As William Gibson put it "The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed".

[-]

PepperoniPasties@reddit

LOL that picture 😂

[-]

Far_Put8236@reddit

Car safety. Assuming people are not driving while staring at their phones

[-]

JTGphotogfan@reddit

Lots

[-]

_byetony_@reddit

Music storage

[-]

Pielacine@reddit

Playgrounds

[-]

_TallOldOne_@reddit

Damn near everything that was around “back then” is better now than it was. It’s all those damn newfangled things!! Bah!

[-]

glibletts@reddit

Bargain brand cereal

[-]

FletchWazzle@reddit

Availability of amateur pron

[-]

ExtraAd7611@reddit

It's spelled "pronoun"

/J

[-]

booster1000@reddit

Battery tech, LEDs and electronic efficiency all around. Boom boxes with 16 D cells anyone? Those Coleman camping lanterns with that brick of a battery.

[-]

destiny_kane48@reddit

The extinction of dial up internet.

[-]

Aware-Owl4346@reddit

Cars are safer and don’t break down as much. Folks might get all misty eyed for classic cars, but I wouldn’t want to fault drive anything I drove in the 80s

[-]

Oxjrnine@reddit

There are a couple of things that are genuinely better now than when we were growing up.

First: music. Coming of age in the late ’80s and early ’90s was… atrocious as a music lover. I had really diverse, actually good taste — but I also had a Paula Abdul CD sitting right beside my Dead Can Dance CD with zero shame. Back then, everyone was a music snob about whatever genre they liked, and no one openly admitted they enjoyed pop on the side… despite the fact those albums were selling millions. Go figure.

At least I was young enough to catch the iPod era, when all those pretentious walls finally fell. For 99 cents, you could buy anything that tickled your fancy, and suddenly everyone’s musical taste got way more eclectic.

The second thing that’s better now: people aren’t terrified of dying because of sex. Going off to college thinking that every encounter was one broken condom away from dying of AIDS was not a great way to spend those years. Today, culturally, people practice healthier sex and are less secretive about it. We’ve landed somewhere between the decadence of the ’70s and the fear of the ’80s and early ’90s. So an actual balance.

And while social media isn’t the pinnacle of mental health, it is wonderful that people will have thousands of photos and memories of the people, places, and things they loved. My own memory is fading, and I’d kill for some of the images younger generations take for granted.

People should still put their phones down more and live in the moment — absolutely. But at the same time, they’ll have a lifetime of treasures we simply don’t have.

[-]

cliffm@reddit

Nothing. Everything is awful

[-]

Jimmy-the-Knuckle@reddit

Less opportunity for isolation. Social has its problems for sure but being isolated with minimal contact with the outside world as a latchkey kid sucked ass.

[-]

CaydeTheCat@reddit

Mental health awareness and acceptance that treatment isn't shameful.

[-]

yeahwellokay@reddit

Streaming TV on demand 24/7. No more watching late night infomercials because that's all that was on.

[-]

JR_RXO@reddit

Internet speed🏎️💨🌪️🔥 It doesn’t even compare!!!!! It’s so ridiculously fast!!!!!😆🤣😅🤣😂🤣

Oh yeah how could I forget autopay😆 I never have to worry about ever missing a payment in my life ever again🙌🙇‍♂️🙏

[-]

DJ_3345@reddit

Weed

[-]

Massive_Look8179@reddit

Honestly can’t think of anything. I mean look at us we’re browsing the internet to keep us entertained. Probably sucking up a lot of misinformation. In turn probably being hateful towards some. Neglecting time with our loved ones. Probably going to check out some porn. When we could be accomplishing something. Strengthening bonds. Or just out having some fun. Yup still haven’t came up with anything.

[-]

Picmover@reddit

Everything. I can go home right now, have Wendy's delivered to my house, and stream Better Off Dead while looking at hockey scores, even minor league and Euro-league, on my phone.

[-]

AioliUseful4639@reddit

Internet speeds.

[-]

Horace-Pinkerr@reddit

My vote would be for legal weed and accessibility of music. The weed one is obvious, but man I used to spend so much time with a blank tape in my radio waiting to get the songs I want or just listening for something new. Now you just search and get anything instantly

[-]

mcache01@reddit

Healthcare

[-]

WOTrULookingAt@reddit

. Mental health stigmas

[-]

Antique-Produce-2050@reddit

Despite all its annoyances and issues, the iPhone is pretty goddamn magical. I'm travelling for work and it's a constant helper for finding my way, connecting with my team back home, directions, calls, photos and everything. It's truly an amazing product that I'm sure we all take for granted.

[-]

TwoAmoebasHugging@reddit

American beer. Remember that old sex-in-a-canoe joke? Doesn’t land anymore.

[-]

External_Life3903@reddit

Cabs... lyft/uber is cheaper and wildly more efficient.

[-]

KrofftSurvivor@reddit

Playgrounds aren't concrete. Car seats are very effective. The child mortality rate in the U.S. has been cut in half since I was born.

[-]

stlredbird@reddit

Most everything is better, it’s just that the things that are worse are REALLY bad.

[-]

newgalactic@reddit

Video games

[-]

Which_Strength4445@reddit

I am not saying that I would have really taken advantage of it but hooking up these days is definitely easier for young people. Of course back in the day we had AIDS and syphilis etc. But man I think even skinny me could have gotten lucky ....

[-]

5hallowbutdeep@reddit

looking for travel deals for myself instead of dealing with the travel agency. i despise those.

[-]

Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit

Brevity in our devices. Computer and video game load times, long rewinds, TVs slowly warming up as they turn on…even the lack of unskippable FBI warnings is a blessing for me.

[-]

MaximumJones@reddit

Everything. Medical technology, safety, lower crime, longer lifespans, greater acceptance of mental health treatment, living conditions, and most importantly above all else...

Much better graphics in our video games.

[-]

Relevant_Fuel_9905@reddit

Being able to rent or buy and stream movies instantly, on my couch, with no need to go to a store hoping they have a copy of the one I want in stock.

Sure, movie rental stores had a certain charm, but I wouldn’t trade what we have now to have them back.